Moss for America
by joanna77
Summary: Completely AU! Donna never joined the campaign, Santos never run, Josh stayed on. Toby never committed treason, Leo died after Bartlet left office, CJ is a news anchor with CNN, and Sam is Gov. of California. Set 6 yrs after the end of Bartlet's 2nd term.
1. Prologue

**MOSS FOR AMERICA **

**Prologue**

* * *

Joshua Lyman alighted from the train and after shouldering his luggage, he headed to the car rental desk. But he was intercepted by a familiar looking man. The tall Secret Service agent gave him a brief smile of recognition which Josh politely returned. 

"That's all your luggage, Mr. Lyman?" Ron Butterfield asked.

"You used to call me Josh," the ex-Deputy Chief of Staff told him. "And that's all my luggage. I didn't know I was to be picked up by the Secret Service."

"Mrs. Bartlet asked me to do it," Ron informed him, explaining that he wasn't here as an agent but as a quasi-friend.

Josh nodded and then followed the agent outside. A SUV was waiting for them, and to Josh' surprise Ron was driving.

"I think I've never seen you driving, Ron," he remarked with a smirk.

"Well, he used to be joking around about that," Ron said with a half-smile.

"I can imagine," Josh said, and the rest of the hour-long journey was spent in silence, both men thinking about the loss they suffered.

When they turned onto the access road that led to the farm, Josh turned to Ron, "Who else is here?"

"You are the first one to arrive, Josh. It's the way she wanted it," Ron told him then, and Josh nodded again.

"How is she?" he asked then, already dreading the answer.

"Given the circumstances, she is okay. She is a strong woman, but I don't need to tell you that."

"No, you don't," Josh said, slightly shaking his head. "The girls?"

"Elizabeth, Annie and Gus will arrive tomorrow morning, Ellie, Vic and Katie sometimes this afternoon, Zoey and Charlie are expected around lunchtime. The rest of the 'gang' will arrive this evening, too," Ron imparted. "The dignitaries, officials and such are coming tomorrow morning, too."

"That term is still in use?" Josh asked back incredulously, referring to the word 'gang'.

"They used it all the time when they were talking about you four," Ron said with a half-smile again.

"Sam's coming too?" Josh asked back, and Ron nodded in confirmation when the car came to a stop in front of the house.

Abbey Bartlet, dressed in black slacks and in a black sweater, was waiting for them on the porch.

"Thank you, Ron," she waved at the agent as he drove away. "Welcome back, Josh," she greeted the younger man then.

"Thank you, ma'am," Josh said, mounting the stairs. He stood in front of the woman for a moment, as if he was hesitating what to do next, but then he hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Abbey," he murmured, squeezing her into his embrace.

"Thank you, Josh," she whispered back, and when she pulled away Josh saw the tears in her eyes. "I don't want to cry anymore, I think I've cried enough for a lifetime."

"You are entitled to cry, and if you ever need a shoulder, I'm here," Josh said. A sudden image flooded his mind then, he almost saw Leo standing there instead of him, consoling his best friend's widow.

"You know, I think I'm glad that Leo is not here," Abbey said, proving once again that she was a psychic. Josh allowed himself a slight smile but then sobered. He had to agree. He didn't know what this would have done to his old mentor.

"No state funeral, huh?" Josh asked then, rather lamely.

"It was his wish, Josh. And I'm certain you understand that," she said, looking straight into his eyes.

"I do. And I guess I knew," Josh said. "Abbey, is there anything you'd like me to do?"

"I will need pallbearers. Vic and Charlie are a given, I think you'd like to do it too. Would you ask Sam and Toby? John and Bob will be here too, they kind of invited themselves, but I don't want them to touch…" she said, choking on her words.

"Consider it done, Abbey. And I think Ron would like to join us, if you think it's appropriate," Josh said.

Abbey nodded, and they entered the house. Abbey showed him his room and after unpacking the few things he brought with, Josh joined her in the kitchen. She seemed to be calmer.

"The reason I asked you to come this early is in his study," Abbey told Josh without further ado. They crossed the living room, and entered the study of former President Bartlet. "He wrote you a letter, Josh," she said, giving him an envelope. On it he spotted his name in neat handwriting. He looked up at her questioningly, and Abbey understood the question. "He dictated the letter to me," she confirmed his suspicions. "His hands were…"

"I know," Josh said, and then opened the envelope.

_Dear Josh,_

_I would like to ask something of you. Taking care of my family, that's Charlie's job from now on, he will receive his letter once he arrives. Taking care of my people, my country, is going to be your job, son. I know how disappointed you were after Matthew Santos turned you down, but Josh, you are one of a million, and I don't like seeing you, wasting your talent. Abbey will give you the work of the past six years, I was looking for candidates for you._

_I trust you to find your next 'real thing'. I was honored by that phrase, and I hope you (and Sam) never regretted to bestow it upon me. There were times when I saw the shadow of doubt cross your face, but I guess I knew that even with your ambitions you wouldn't have stayed if you didn't believe I was worth the trouble. I'm sorry for not trusting you from the first moment on, but I didn't know you enough at that time. _

_I would also like to bring to your attention that asking for help is not a shame. The gang will arrive shortly, and I'm sure they are all happy with their lives, but I'm also sure that by now they are pretty bored too. _

_I would also like to thank again for one of the most precious gifts I've ever received, Abbey will tell you what happens to it._

_Jed Bartlet_

Josh looked up Abbey, the tears in his eyes threatening to spill.

"I've never regretted that phrase. _He_ was the 'real thing', I'm glad he knew that," Josh told her.

"He knew because Leo told him on the last day in office. Sometimes he doubted that he was worthy of it. After the MS, after Shareef, after Zoey's kidnapping, after the China-trip, but Leo always told him to get a grip," Abbey said with a sad smile. "Jed told me that he was able to carry on as long as he knew that the gang supported him."

"We did. I know we disagreed with him on countless occasions, but even those disagreements, and the fact that he heard us out made him the 'real thing'. I had a talk with Toby one day, it was during re-election. He told me a real leader has something called _gravitas_ and that a real leader is ready to disagree with his advisors even when he knows that they are smarter than him. Not that anyone felt himself smarter than him," Josh said with a chuckle.

"Well, he had a healthy-sized ego," Abbey said, a flash of smile appearing on her face. "Would you like to see his work, Josh?"

"I always wondered why he didn't write a book," Josh said, after receiving a stack of purple folders.

"He said he doesn't have that much time to waste. You know, he contemplated to work on a 'secret plan to fight inflation'. But he never got around to actually do it," Abbey said, a grin appearing on her face.

"Wow, I would have loved to see that," Josh said after a chuckle. "And I would have given anything to see CJ's face after seeing that plan on paper," he added then with a grin complete with dimples.

"You can stay here, Josh," Abbey said then, seeing Josh eying the folders. "I'll go back to the kitchen and start lunch, Charlie and Zoey will be here soon enough. Did you know that she is pregnant?"

"We are in touch," Josh said with a nod. "I called her yesterday, she sounded subdued but Charlie said he would take care of her."

"That he does with fervor. I think it's sometimes tiresome and sometimes downright nauseating how much he loves her," Abbey said with another chuckle.

"Well, I told him the same but as he pointed out, I'm just envious," Josh said.

"How is Amy?" Abbey asked hesitantly.

"To tell the truth, I don't know and I don't really care. We started this thing over and over again, and I think I've finally understood that it's never going to work," Josh admitted.

"I thought you realized that two years ago," Abbey said sympathetically.

"Well, but this time I was convincing enough for Amy to see that I'm right. Last thing I heard she was in Florida, engaged to be married," Josh said with genuine indifference.

"Okay, I leave you with the files then. They are not ordered. In fact, Jed asked me to shuffle them regularly," she added with a little smile.

"I see," Josh nodded, but his attention was already with the folders.

He opened the first one, and Matt Santos' picture greeted him again. He simply put the folder aside, he followed the Congressman's career in the last six years; there wasn't a thing in that file he didn't know about.

The next one was Senator Kendrick of Ohio, a two-term senator who championed the reform of Social Security. Josh knew the senator in his first term, and he immediately knew that he couldn't work with him. The senator was a very good candidate, and Josh knew that should he found _his_, Kendrick will be an adversary in the primaries. He put the file next to Santos'.

There were seven more folders and the next one made him chuckle. It was Sam's file. Josh knew that one day Sam would be a good candidate, but he knew that California's governor was needed as the governor of the Golden State. For the first time in many years, both senators, the governor and 25 of the 53 House Representatives were Democrats which was a feat itself. He knew that should a Democrat win the upcoming elections, Sam would be young enough to run for President even in eight years. He put the file onto Santos'.

The next folder was the first African-American candidate, as Josh would learn, one of the three. Senator Alfred Kennison was a four term congressman and a two term senator from Oregon, he sponsored important bills, bills Josh believed in, but he doubted that Alfred Kennison would ever consider him as his campaign manager. At the end, he put the file on top of Kendrick's.

The next one was a real surprise, because it was woman. Not that he didn't think that a woman could be President one day; but he never expected to see one in his life time. Acting Governor of Wisconsin, Donatella Moss was a three term congresswoman, and in her third term the ranking minority member of the Science Committee for Environment, Technology and Standards. Josh ran across her several times while being President Bartlet's Deputy Chief of Staff but he didn't know that the congresswoman was elected as lieutenant-governor. He heard that Wisconsin's governor had a heart attack but he never bothered to look up who would be Acting Governor. A recent article caught his eyes, it was a clipping from the Washington Post and Danny Concannon wrote it. _Wisconsin's Rising Star_ was the title, and Josh was soon caught up with everything that went on in Donatella Moss' life. She was currently 42, mother of two kids (a boy aged 8, and a girl aged 5). She was a two-term lieutenant-governor (one year into her second term), currently serving as Acting Governor after Governor Monroe's heart attack. She was a widow, her husband died six years ago. Josh realized that she must have been pregnant at that time. He set her file aside, thinking that he must read every newspaper article and every note of Jed Bartlet later.

Among the remaining four files he found the other two African-Americans but they were put atop of Kendrick's pile too, Josh still not able to see himself being accepted by either of them. There was another woman, Laura Wells, the current Senator of Hawaii, but Josh knew her too, and they had not been buddies while he worked at the White House. The senator had a bad track record, going through her chiefs of staff rather fast. And while Josh knew that she would accept him as her campaign manager they would end up quarreling all the time.

The last folder belonged to the current Senate's President_ pro tempore_. He was 66 years old and as former Speaker of the House he had an impressive record. He was someone like Stackhouse, a man with _gravitas_. Josh knew that he was a moderate democrat but he decided he could live with that. He was a big gun in Foreign Relations and was even considered Secretary of State when they wanted Berryhill to replace Hoynes. But Josh was worried about his lack of oratory. Sure, with the right speechwriting team he could be convincing, but he sometimes misspoke and that could be a dangerous thing once elected President. He also lacked the enthusiasm about education and health care, two core issues of every election. But Senator Sellner was a candidate he could back, and he hoped that once brought to his attention he would care about education and health care. He put the file on top of Sam's and Santos' and then stood up. He stretched, his back a little bit stiff from the damp weather. He took a look outside and saw a SUV pull up in front of the house. Charlie and Zoey arrived.

"They are here," Abbey announced to him, taking a fleeting glance at the three piles Josh made. "What do you think?"

"I would rather mull things over for the rest of the day if that's okay with you. I would like to hear your input but first I have to decide which of the candidates I could take on."

"That's completely understandable," Abbey said with a nod and then ushered him into the living room.

"Josh!" Zoey greeted him, throwing herself into his embrace.

"Hi, Zoey. I'm so sorry for your loss," he whispered into her ear.

"Thank you," Zoey said and squeezed him. After letting go off Josh, she allowed Charlie to shake hands with him, but the older man pulled him into an embrace too.

"Honey, you could help me in the kitchen, Josh can go back to his files and Charlie can read his letter. Josh, would you mind give him his letter, it's in the same drawer yours was in."

"Sure, Abbey," Josh said, and he ushered Charlie into the study of former President Bartlet. "How is Zoey?" he asked then concerned. He didn't miss the circles under her eyes and the fatigue he felt radiating from Zoey when she hugged him.

"She is exhausted. She cries a lot but I think now that we are here she will be okay. She was upset that she wasn't here for her mother when it happened. How is Abbey?"

"She cries a lot, too. But she is a strong woman," Josh repeated Ron's sentiment. "Here is your letter."

"You know what's inside?" Charlie asked, eyeing the envelope.

"I didn't read it, but he mentioned the contents in my letter," Josh said, returning to his files, giving Charlie the privacy he needed.

Several minutes later, he looked up and found Charlie in tears.

"Should I call Zoey in?" he suggested.

"No, I don't want her to see me like this. She would be upset. What's in your letter?"

"He wanted me to take care of his people, of his country. He left me these folders with potential candidates. Wanna take a look?"

Charlie nodded, but before sitting down he threw a questioning look at Josh.

"Why are there three piles?"

"Candidates I could back, candidates I could never back or they would never want me, and about this one I didn't make up my mind yet."

Charlie nodded and picked up the three folders from the likely candidates. He nodded every once in a while when he read Senator Sellner's file. Seeing the other two, he gave Josh a brief grin but set them aside. He too followed Santos' career, seeing that Josh wanted to recruit him for that campaign. He then went through the other pile, hemming and hawing but never speaking up. After closing the last file, he looked up Josh.

"You have problems with black candidates?" he asked, sounding as if he didn't quite believe what he insinuated.

"No, I think they would never want me as their campaign manager. Kendrick, Kennison and Wells are likely candidates. I could back Kennison, but honestly, Charlie, he would never hire me."

"Yeah, I know. He asked me to run his campaign," Charlie admitted then.

"That's fantastic!" Josh exclaimed.

"I said no. I told him we came in a package," Charlie smiled sadly. "He said no after that. I guess he isn't the 'real thing'. He can't see past color and religion."

"No, apparently, he isn't the 'real thing'. Take a look at this woman though," Josh gave Charlie Donatella Moss' file.

Charlie spotted Danny's article too and after reading it, he grinned up at Josh.

"Too bad she is too young," he said.

"She would be the perfect Vice Presidential candidate, she would complement Sellner well," Josh said.

"Yeah, young and old, woman and man, foreign relations buff and champion of education," Charlie summed up.

"I want Abbey and the gang to weigh in, I want to know what President Bartlet thought of them, but if they agree with us would you like to join the campaign?" Josh asked Charlie.

"Zoey's pregnant," Charlie said.

"I know, Charlie, and I promise when her time comes I will send you to the headquarters, okay?" Josh offered.

"Okay," Charlie said, shaking Josh' outstretched hand. "You'll need someone to run Mrs. Moss' campaign."

"I was thinking about Toby," Josh said.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, looking at Josh as if he had lost it completely.

"Yeah, if she can handle Toby he can handle Congress and the other stuff."

"Well, that's one way to see things," Charlie added before they exited the study.

_TBC_

_A/N: If you liked this, please leave a review. ;)_


	2. Reunion

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Reunion**

* * *

Toby and CJ arrived together and Abbey led them into the living room as soon as they had something to drink in their hands. Josh hugged CJ, and although he knew that Toby would be embarrassed by the public display of affection, he hugged him too. Zoey and Charlie were sitting on the loveseat, Abbey commandeered one of the armchairs, leaving the couch to Josh, CJ and Toby. 

"How is Atlanta, CJ?" Zoey asked the older woman.

"Well, it's Atlanta," CJ said non-committally. "We don't really like it, but that's the way it is. I want to move to New York though but that's not up to me this time."

"I see," Zoey said with a nod. "Toby, how is consulting?"

"Well, boring to the teeth but the college fund of my kids is covered," Toby said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You should come to work for me then," Sam inserted, standing in the doorway, holding a beer in his hand.

"Sam!" Zoey squealed and threw herself into his embrace.

"Hi, kiddo," he whispered to her, "my heartfelt condolences."

"Thanks, Sam," Zoey whispered back and let go off Sam. Sam hugged CJ and Josh, and shook Toby's proffered hand. He then took seat on the armrest of the couch, next to CJ.

"How are you, Governor Sparky?" CJ asked him then with a glint in her eyes Josh missed every time he met CJ since the end of their second term.

"Not feeling very sparky today, CJ," Sam admitted. "Also, I'm divorced, so to say that this is not my year is an understatement."

"Welcome to the club, Sam," CJ greeted him then, raising her bottle.

"Who has good news?" Sam asked, turning around.

"Well, I think Zoey does," Abbey said mysteriously.

"Mom!"

"What?" Abbey asked back innocently.

"You tell them," Zoey said then to Charlie, hiding her face in his chest.

"We are expecting," Charlie confessed then, making everyone smile. After the round of congratulatory remarks, everyone looked at Abbey.

"I've asked you to come today because I think Josh needs us," Abbey said, explaining her wish.

"Why do you need us, Josh?" CJ asked without hesitation.

"Well, Claudia Jean," Josh started and stood up. He immediately began pacing. "President Bartlet left me a legacy so to say. He asked me to take care of his country, his people. He also helped me by providing nine candidates I could take on. He also asked me not to be ashamed to ask for help, and who am I to debate his advice?" Josh said, sending a grin towards Abbey.

"What kind of help do you need?" Sam asked.

"First of all, the moral kind," Josh said. "I need you to tell me the truth. If you think I shouldn't, please tell me. No hard feelings," he added.

Everybody shook the head.

"You should," Sam summed up their opinion.

"Thanks," Josh said then with a nod. "Then I need all hands on deck. I already asked Charlie if he wanted to join the campaign, and he said yes. I'm asking all of you the same," he said, resting his eyes for a minute each on CJ, Toby and Sam.

"I will support you, and I'm willing to endorse your candidate, Josh," Sam offered.

"Thank you, Sam," Josh said. He knew that Sam would say that.

"You don't even know who the candidate is," Zoey piped up.

"Doesn't matter, Zoey, if Josh thinks he could be a good President I'm willing to support him," Sam explained simply.

"Toby, CJ?" Josh then turned to the other two. "You can pick every position you want."

"Well, I'm not really missing speechwriting but I'm willing to help whoever you choose. Otherwise, if you are running the show I'm going to take the job you offer me," Toby said.

"CJ?" Josh asked his best friend then.

"Mi amour, I would really like to help you, but I think it's time for a female candidate and I doubt you chose one," CJ said. "If you did, I could be persuaded to come on board. Otherwise, you'll have my moral support."

Josh and Charlie shared a smile, and then Josh turned back to CJ and Toby.

"Well, then it's good that I chose a female VP-candidate," Josh said, handing CJ Governor Moss' file. "I would like Toby to run her show. I know that this is not the glam job you deserve but she is a good candidate and if she were slightly older I would even consider her for President. Abbey?" he then turned to the former First Lady, seeing that she was smiling.

"Jed thought that Donatella was a remarkable woman. They talked on the phone several times, and he invited her to visit us but we never got around to actually realize those plans," Abbey said. "She asked me whether she could come to the funeral and I said yes."

CJ was still reading the file, throwing inquisitive looks at Toby.

"She has a PhD?" Toby asked Josh.

"In Communications," Josh said with a grin.

Toby nodded, and then took the file from CJ. He closed the folder and nodded.

"We are taking her," he said solemnly.

"CJ?"

"We are taking her," CJ repeated Toby's statement.

"Thank you. And now to the candidate…" he began but Abbey cut him off.

"May I guess?" she asked then.

"Go ahead," Josh said with a smile. He couldn't believe that he was smiling so much despite the sad occasion that brought him here. Being with his friends, his family had that effect on him. Talking about politics, contemplating a campaign was another boost.

"You want to ask Matt Santos again, but you also think Sellner could be the 'real thing.'"

"Sellner could be the 'real thing', his current Chief of Staff is a moron though. And I already know that Santos is the best candidate. However, I phoned him after lunch and he said no again."

"I see. So you are going for Sellner," Abbey stated.

"Yes," Josh said, looking at his friends. Sam and Toby nodded simultaneously, CJ looked at him questioningly. "What is it, Claudia Jean?"

"Why would you ask Santos again?" she asked perplexed.

"Because he is the best candidate. He was eight years ago, he still is. He is a visionary. Sellner is someone with _gravitas_, someone with considerable leadership skills, with the required experience and he never shied away from fights concerning his convictions. However, he is afraid to reach for the stars, afraid to think big. We might have to teach him that," Josh said. "He is not perfect, but who is?" he concluded.

"He will come tomorrow too," Abbey informed them. "He is representing the Senate."

"Who else is going to be here, mom?" Zoey asked.

"Well, President Leland is coming. The Speaker of the House, of course. Lord Marbury will represent the ambassadors. Chigorin may come, he couldn't tell me whether he will be able, his wife is very ill. I didn't allow anyone else. John and Bob kind of invite themselves, and I couldn't say no to them. They were genuinely mournful," Abbey added.

"Sam, Toby, you up to be pallbearers?" Josh asked them and both men nodded solemnly. "I've talked to Ron, he said he would be honored but he is needed."

"Besides," Zoey began, "he is so much taller than the rest of you. Doug isn't coming?"

"I asked him not to," Abbey said then, her face showing her anger.

"I see," Zoey backed off, and Charlie squeezed her hand supportively.

"I will ask Marbury then," Josh said, turning to Abbey. "If that's okay with you."

Abbey nodded and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by an agent.

"Ma'am, your daughter and her family is here."

"You should stay here; I'm going to greet Ellie. Zoey, Charlie." She beckoned her youngest children to her then.

"Josh, are you ready to do this?" CJ asked him when the Bartlets and Charlie left the room.

"I'm as ready as I can be. It's not like I have a life outside of the political arena. Besides, both Leo and President Bartlet wanted me to do this," Josh added then.

"Yeah, but is this something you want to do?" CJ pressed on.

"I want to do this. I want to show the American people that you can do better. I've never thought I would say this, but Vinnick was great. Leland is fumbling, he is a moron and I don't say that just because he is a Republican. I'll tell you something, Leland is worse than Ritchie was. And that's saying something, right, Toby?"

"You are right. But CJ is right too. Josh, you won't get any younger. I know you wanted to have children," he said then in a whisper.

"Yeah, that ship pretty much sailed, I think," Josh said. "I don't know. Maybe I'm not cut out for family life."

"Nonsense," Sam said. "You just haven't found your soul-mate yet."

"That's coming from a divorced man," Josh retorted, he felt angry because it seemed that the others were ganging up on him.

"Nina was not my soul-mate, Josh. I knew that, she knew that. It felt good while it lasted, but right now I'm regretting to having settled anything short of a soul-mate," Sam told him.

"What about you, CJ? You are divorced too. And Toby, you too. You can't tell me to get a life, you got one and look where you are."

"Josh," CJ interrupted his tirade, "I have a son, Toby has the twins. We have a life. Sure, it didn't work out with me and Danny, and it didn't work out with Toby and Andie, but that doesn't mean that you have to fail too."

"Amy is engaged to be married," Josh said.

"I know," CJ said. "But you didn't love Amy. You just enjoyed the sex."

"Yeah, I guess so," Josh admitted. "I could have loved her. She deserved that."

"Josh, there is nothing like 'I could have loved her'. Love is not something you can command. You have to work on it, but it doesn't come on command," CJ insisted.

"Okay, but I'm ready to tackle this election," Josh said. "Who knows, maybe I won't be made Chief of Staff by the end of it. It's not unheard of. And then I will tour Route 66 and find myself a wife," he said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Along Route 66?" Sam asked back incredulously.

"I'll let you to pick the highway then, Sam," Josh retorted with a grin. "And now, could we skip the topic of me not having a life and concentrate on the candidates? How could I sell Mrs. Moss to Sellner?"

"Tell him it's a deal-breaker. He must know he stands no chance without you," Toby suggested.

"It's a deal-breaker," Josh mused aloud. "I really want to see this woman in high office."

"Too bad she is too young," CJ mused aloud.

"Yeah, but she won't be in eight years. Although I want Sam run in eight years," Josh admitted then.

"Me?" Sam asked back incredulously.

"Well, President Bartlet left me nine files, one of them was yours. I think you are not ready yet, but you'll be in eight years," Josh said.

"There was a time I wanted that," Sam confessed. "I'm not so sure about it anymore."

"Why not?"

"I want to have a life, Josh," Sam said, looking pointedly at Josh.

_TBC

* * *

_

**Next up...**

_Josh meets Donna and Senator Sellner, Marbury arrives, and Liz wants to run for Congress. Hoynes and Russel are making offers. _


	3. Moss for America

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Moss for America**

* * *

Josh stepped outside and inhaled deep. He took a look around and spotted Abbey who was sipping her coffee at the far end of the porch. 

"Good morning," he greeted her.

"Morning, Josh," she returned his greeting. "Couldn't sleep any longer?"

"I'm not used to the silence, to tell the truth," Josh admitted with a smirk.

"That's what Charlie always says," Abbey said with a slight smile. "If you want some coffee the pot is in the kitchen."

"No, thanks. I'm trying to cut back on caffeine," Josh said. "My doctors say I shouldn't drink too much coffee."

"And you are actually listening to them?" Abbey asked back incredulously.

"Well, they said I could choose coffee or stress. Since I'm just about to embark on a national campaign I can't see cutting back on stress," Josh said. "To tell the truth, I don't know how I'll function without coffee in my blood but I have to try."

"How is your back?" Abbey asked.

"I've learned to live with it," Josh wisecracked. "Seriously, it bothers me when it's damp or when there is a change in the weather, but I try to block the ache out. And it's only an ache not actual pain. It's just enough to remind me that I actually have a back," he added then solemnly.

"I see. Blood pressure?"

"Are we doing my annual check-up?" Josh asked back.

"Josh," Abbey warned him.

"Okay, okay. I have a medicine for that. It's a little on the high side but nothing life-threatening. I work out, I try to jog every morning, that keeps it in bay," Josh admitted.

"Good. You are not getting any younger," Abbey said.

"I know. And believe it or not I'm aware of my mortality. I don't abuse my body with junk food anymore. I really want to live at least twenty more years. I already exceeded expectations; at least that's what my doctor said to the nurse during my last check-up."

"Were you eavesdropping?" Abbey chuckled.

"I'm not ashamed of that. I know what they said after my operation, they gave me ten-twelve years, twenty if I left politics. I didn't leave politics and here I am fourteen years later."

"Yeah. I'm sure those doctors didn't know you were this stubborn," Abbey said with a sad smile.

"Abbey, I know how hard this day is going to become. I want you to remember one thing. Jed loved you above all, he always did, he always will," Josh said, taking her into his arms.

"I know, I know," Abbey said after wiping away the tears from her eyes. "You know a tiny part of me is glad that he is gone."

"Don't feel bad about that," Josh said. "He feared nothing more than the brain-shredding side effect of this illness. I think he was glad too that he left while his brain was still full intact."

"He was. He told me the night before he died. He told me he was ready to go and that he was actually glad that he still knew who I was, who he was. He called the girls, told them he loved them and then asked me to leave him in the living room. He sent me to bed but I settled down on the couch. He watched CNN then he called Mallory, they talked about Leo for a while. He then called Donatella, they were joking around and that's when I fell asleep," Abbey recounted the events. "I knew he would die but I wasn't able to stay awake with him. He died alone, Josh."

"Abbey," Josh whispered to her, taking her again in his arms. "He wanted it that way otherwise he would have told you to stay awake with him. He lived his life to the fullest, Abbey."

"I know, I know," Abbey said. "When we moved back here he told me he would eat his salad but he wanted at least once a month a manly meal."

"Steak and potato with a beer?" Josh asked back, making Abbey laugh through her tears.

"Yeah. And he was right, what would life be without guilty pleasures? He told me he wanted Charlie to keep an eye on our family but he wanted me to keep an eye on _his_ family. He wanted me to occasionally call you four in the middle of the night to bore you with useless trivia or to quiz you about the trivia you were supposed to remember," she said with a wistful smile. "He drove me insane with those trivia sessions but I would give everything to hear him rattle off the highest mountains around the world. He actually learned how to surf the net and he looked up those things."

"He learned how to use the internet?" Josh asked back incredulously.

"He didn't want to tell me how he did that but then confessed that he was tele-learning. He bored Donatella with one of his trivia sessions when I was with Ellie and Vic, and she apparently corrected him on something. He asked her how she knew that and she said that she just looked it up on the internet. He was not to stop after that," Abbey said, tears pooling in her eyes again. "He couldn't stand to be corrected."

"I know," Josh nodded. "He really was keen on Mrs. Moss," he stated rather than asked but Abbey nodded nonetheless.

"I used to joke around that he was flirting with her, and he joked back that I should be glad that he was still able to woo a woman," Abbey said.

"Woo?" Josh asked back.

"Donatella's term, obviously," Abbey told him.

"I'm really curious about her," Josh said then.

"Yeah, I can imagine," Abbey said. "You know she is a widow."

"Abbey!" Josh screeched indignantly.

"Well, she is. And you are free agent. Oh, and Josh," Abbey said before returning to the house.

"Yes?" Josh asked back.

"Amy is gonna be here. Her parents are our friends," Abbey explained.

"I had a hunch," Josh said, his face emotionless. "I will try to be civil but I don't promise anything."

"Okay, that's enough for me," Abbey said and then went back into the house.

Josh marveled over the sunrise and how clean the air seemed when a car pulled up in front of the house. Liz Bartlet and her kids arrived, and Josh went down to welcome them.

"Josh," Liz greeted him with a wave.

"Liz," Josh said, he didn't know how to act around Liz. He had to smack down her husband but meanwhile that husband proved to be a wife-cheating jerk. "Morning, Annie! Hi, Gus!"

"Hi, Josh!" they greeted him in unison and then looked at each other in disgust.

"Abbey is in the kitchen," Josh told Liz.

"I would like to talk to you after the funeral," Liz said before entering the house.

"Okay," Josh agreed but didn't really want to think about what she wanted to talk about.

Josh turned back but the sunrise was over and with a heavy sigh he started to shuffle back to the house. He was just mounting the stairs when Sam appeared in the door.

"They are at it," he informed Josh.

"Who?"

"Liz, Abbey, Zoey and Ellie. They are all in the kitchen and they argue."

"They argue?" Josh asked taken aback. "About what?"

"Well, I'm not sure but I think Liz asked why there is no state funeral for her father. Abbey told her it was his father's wish but Liz doesn't seem to believe that. Abbey said tough because Jed couldn't write his wish down so she just had to believe her _own_ mother. That's when I left."

"You think I should go in there?"

"Probably not," came Charlie's voice from the door.

"If you say so," Josh said, shrugging his shoulders.

"They will yell for a while but then hug each other, crying their eyes out," Annie said, after leaving the house too. They were assembling on the porch, and Annie went to Charlie who pulled her into a hug.

"Is Deanna coming?" Annie asked him.

"Yes, she will be here soon," Charlie told her.

"Okay," Annie said with a nod. "Josh, maybe… I mean… Could you talk to Gus later?"

"Should I…?" Josh asked her, gesturing towards the house.

"Not now," Annie said, shaking her head. "He just wants to be alone right now."

"Okay, after the funeral then," Josh agreed.

They stood there in silence for another minute when Toby exited the house.

"Are they still yelling?" Charlie asked him.

"Yes. Vic went into the kitchen," he announced then.

"He is suicidal," Annie gave the verdict.

"CJ went in there too," Toby told them and while he took place in one of the rattan chairs a clearly upset Vic stormed out of the house.

"What the…!?" he exclaimed but then spotted Annie standing next to Charlie. "I shouldn't have gone in there?"

"Bright boy," Annie quipped, making Josh laugh.

"Well, somebody should've told me something. But I think they might eat CJ for breakfast," Vic told them.

"Nah." Josh shook his head. "Listen."

"Well, if you want to yell I can give you yelling," CJ shouted. "Bet there is no one else in this room who could yell louder than me," they heard.

Toby gave Josh a smile which he returned and then two things happened at the same time. CJ stormed out of the house and without noticing the others, dashed down the stairs. Another car pulled up in front of the house, and a little girl hopped out of the vehicle. Josh watched the collision in awe.

"Oh!" CJ exclaimed, looking down at the girl who fell onto her bottom. "Sorry!"

The little girl looked up and then craned her neck to look higher.

"You are very tall," she informed CJ, making the woman who just climbed out of the car chuckle.

"Joanna, what did I tell you about getting out of the car without help?"

"That I shouldn't do it unless I have to pee," Joanna told her, still sitting on the ground.

"Right. And do you have to pee?" the blonde woman asked her, squatting down to be able to look into his daughter's eyes.

"No, Mommy, I was just impatient," the little girl admitted. "But I'm a little thirsty."

"You want some juice?" CJ asked her, picking her up from the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am. I'm used to tripping and falling. That's basically my second nature," Joanna informed her.

"Just how old are you?" CJ asked her, smiling widely.

"I'm almost five," Joanna told her, showing her five fingers.

"Oh, then you are already a big girl. What kind of juice do you like?" CJ asked her.

"Apple juice is okay, but I like passion fruit juice the best," the girl told her.

"No, you don't," her mother told her.

"But you do," Joanna said, sounding irrefutable, and Sam, Josh, Charlie and Annie burst out in laughs at the same time.

Joanna's mother blushed visibly and turned to CJ.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"No need for that, Ms. Moss," CJ told her. "I'm sure she just wanted to take care of you, right, Joanna?"

"Right. We overslept because of me, and Mommy said she didn't have time for her morning juice," Joanna stage-whispered to CJ.

"You overslept?" CJ asked.

"Not as such, no," Joanna said, shaking her head. "Mommy said that I was obviously begging for a tickle match."

"And did you?" CJ asked, clearly smitten with the little girl.

"I don't beg," the girl said indignantly. "I asked politely," she added then, sending the grown-ups into another round of laughter.

"You like to be tickled?" Sam asked her.

"No, not as such," Joanna said, obviously this was her favorite expression. "But I like to tickle Mommy; she has a funny laugh when I tickle her."

"I see," Sam said. "Hi, my name is Sam Seaborn," he greeted the child's mother then.

"Governor Seaborn," Donatella Moss shook the proffered hand. "I'm Donatella Moss, and this my daughter, Joanna."

"Sam," Sam corrected her. "And it's nice to meet you, Ms. Moss, Joanna," he added then with a little bow towards the girl.

"Donna," the woman corrected him and flashed him a smile.

"Allow me to introduce my companions, Donna," Sam said then. "CJ Cregg," he turned to CJ who was still holding Joanna in her arms.

"Hi, please call me CJ," CJ said, awkwardly shaking Donna's hand. The little girl squirming in her arms made it next to impossible to shake hands properly.

"You are the CNN lady!" Joanna exclaimed then suddenly. "I knew I knew you!" she added then, making CJ smile.

"You watch a lot of CNN?" she asked the little girl.

"Occasionally," Joanna corrected her, making CJ laugh. "Did I say that wrong, Mommy?"

"No, honey, you said it right this time," Donna reassured her.

"This is Annie Bartlet-Westin," Sam continued with the introductions then.

"It's nice to meet you, Annie," Donna said, shaking her hand, "and please accept our heartfelt condolences."

"Thank you, ma'am," Annie said in a whisper.

"This is Charlie Young," Sam continued. "Vic Faison. Toby Ziegler and Josh Lyman," he said, and Donna shook hands with everyone.

"Okay, little one, would you like to have a juice then?" CJ asked Joanna.

"Yeah," Joanna said, casting a quick look at her mother. "Thank you."

"CJ, you sure you want to bring the kid into the war zone?" Charlie asked.

"War zone?" Donna asked.

"The Bartlet-women are having a discussion in the kitchen," CJ informed her.

"A very heated discussion," Charlie corrected her.

"Well, what do you say, Joanna, you want to see a shouting match?" CJ asked the little girl.

"They are shouting in the kitchen?" the little girl asked with wide eyes. "But you have to use your indoor voice when you are in the house," she imparted the rule, making everyone burst out in laughter again.

"Come on, we have to remind them of that rule," CJ told her and left with the girl.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Donna said, addressing everybody. "I know how it is to lose a mentor."

"Thank you, Governor," Josh said then.

"Donna," she corrected him. Josh, not wanting to tell her that he didn't call candidates by their first name, reacted with a shrug.

"Donatella," Abbey exclaimed when she stepped outside.

Donna hurriedly mounted the stairs, and Abbey hugged her. Josh looked on perplexed. Abbey was a kind woman, but he didn't know her as one who hugged strange people on first sight.

"Abbey," Donna whispered and hugged the other woman tight. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Did he tell you something that night?" Abbey asked her then without further ado.

"He was just quizzing me about national parks," Donna said, a sad smile playing on her lips. "He told me he was ready to go," she added then in a whisper.

"National parks?" Abbey asked her. "He was into mountains lately."

"We had a thing about national parks," Donna told her, her smile growing wider. "Apparently I was the one who was responsible for the 55th," Donna said, throwing a quick glance towards Josh.

"I thought Josh was responsible for that," Abbey said, looking at Josh questioningly.

"Well, I was arguing with a Congressman from Montana when Congresswomen Moss came by for a dressing down. She told him that his opinions about something I don't remember anymore were antiquated and that's when I got the idea with the Antiquities Act," Josh explained.

"I didn't know that," Sam inserted.

"Well, what can I say, I have the ego the size of Texas," Josh said, squinting at Donna, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You remember that?" Donna asked him.

"Well, it's hard to forget," Josh said. "I mean you could have compared the size of my ego to Montana or some other big state but Texas??? I don't like Texas," Josh said.

"But you were ready to campaign for two Texans," Donna said perplexed.

"Hoynes was an idiot and Matthew Santos was not born in Texas," Josh told her.

"I see," Donna said with a smile.

"It's time to get ready, Mom," Zoey stepped out, holding Joanna by the hand. "And I think this young lady wants her Mommy."

"Mommy, Aunt CJ found you mango juice. Do you like mango?" she asked, balancing a tall glass in her hand.

"Yes, sweetheart, I like mango juice," Donna said, taking the glass from her daughter. "Hmm, very delicious," she said, after taking a first sip. "You had an apple juice?"

"And a blueberry muffin," Joanna said. "Zoey's mom made it. It was yummy."

Ron appeared to tell them that they should take off in thirty minutes. Everyone went inside to change, Josh who was already dressed for the funeral stayed behind with Donna and Joanna.

"Are you in kindergarten?" Josh squatted down to get on eye level with the little girl.

"Yes. I can write my name and I can read."

"Joanna," her mother warned her.

"Sorry, Mommy, I can write my name in capitals and I can read some words I already know," she corrected then.

"That's impressive nonetheless," Josh told her.

"Do you have any kids?" Joanna asked then out of the blue.

"No, I don't have any kids. Do you?" Josh asked back.

"You are silly; I'm only five years old. I can't have kids; you have to have a husband for that. I'm not allowed to have one until I turn twenty-five."

"Who said that?" Josh asked, not daring to look at Donna.

"It's a rule," Joanna said.

"I see. Well, do you have any siblings then?"

"Mommy, what's a sibling?" Joanna turned to Donna then, and Josh saw a glint appearing in her eyes.

"I think you know what that word means, honey," Donna told her.

"Yeah, I have a brother," Joanna said, looking quite crestfallen. "He is the plague of my life," she said then.

"Joanna!" Donna exclaimed. "You know better than that, young lady. And we get home we have to talk about this, I hope you know that."

"Yes, and I'm terribly sorry, Mommy. I actually love him," she whispered to Josh. "But do not ever tell him that. He is very conce… What's the word, Mommy?" she looked at Donna for help.

"I think you are looking for the word conceited, honey."

"Yes, he is conceited as it is. At least, that's what Grandma Moss always tells him. Do you think that Tommy is conceited, Mommy?" Joanna asked her mother then.

"No, I don't think so. He is self-confident but not conceited," Donna told her.

"What's that, Mommy?"

"Self-confident?" Donna asked and after Joanna's nod she tried to define the word so that a five year old would understand. It wasn't an easy task.

"It means that he usually knows that he is good enough to do this or that," Josh tried to explain, and Donna threw him a grateful look.

"He is good. He is smart and he is the best chess-player in the whole school!" Joanna exclaimed proudly and that got Josh thinking.

"Donna!" CJ shouted then. "Could you come here?"

"Joanna, why did you say that he is the plague of your life?" Josh asked after Donna left them. "You love him, don't you?"

"It's something Aunt Frankie told Mom about Uncle Mike," Joanna imparted.

"I see," Josh nodded. Yeah, probably she just wanted to use that phrase.

The funeral was simple. Zoey stood up to read from the Bible, and Josh led the pallbearers to the casket. Lord Marbury was honored to help and they slowly marched outside. Rain started to drizzle as if the weather had been mourning with them. Afterwards, they all went back to the farm for the wake. The place was packed with Secret Service agents by the time they arrived back. Josh disappeared with Gus in his room, leaving a dumbfounded Liz in their wake. They talked about Jed for almost half an hour before emerging from the room again. Liz was livid.

"Gus… I…"

"Oh, get a grip, Mom," Annie told her mother in a hiss. "He wanted to talk about Grandpa with someone else."

"Josh, I want to talk to you, too," Liz said then, after giving a quick hug to a reluctant Gus.

"Yeah, okay," Josh said, sending a glance towards Sam but he was deep in conversation with Senator Sellner.

"I'm not a fan of small talk, so let's pretend we talked about the beautiful service and the nice wake already," Liz told him.

"Okay," Josh said hesitantly. He found that it's soothing to have that small talk after funerals.

"I want to run for Daddy's old seat in the House," Liz told him.

"You mean the seat your husband already had a shot at?" Josh asked back bluntly. He felt that Liz was a bit cold, coming to him with this on the day her father was buried.

"Yes, that seat. He wants to try again, by the way," Liz said.

"You want that seat because he wants it?" Josh asked back incredulously.

"No, I want that seat because I always wanted it. I was just not ready to make it my priority. But Gus is already in junior high and Annie is in college so I think I should give it a try," Liz said.

"You really want it?" Josh asked back, still somewhat perplexed.

"Yes, I really want it. And I want you to help me," Liz told him.

"I'm sorry, but I already have a job," Josh told her. "Have you talked to somebody at the DCCC?"

"Yes, they told me to get a campaign manager," Liz informed him.

"Well, they were right. But as I said, I already have a job," Josh reiterated.

"No, you don't. You have that consulting firm but you don't have a candidate. You wouldn't take on Hoynes or Russel," Liz told him.

"Guess what, your father just gave me some candidates," Josh retorted.

"What?!" Liz exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm contemplating a national campaign," Josh told her.

"Then I have to ask CJ," Liz said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"CJ will be working for me," Josh called after her, making her turn.

"Toby?" Liz asked then.

"Too," Josh said with a nod. "Charlie, too, for that matter."

"Really?" Liz asked back.

"Really," Josh told her.

"Then I will ask Amy," Liz said, her eyes fixed on Amy Gardner whose eyes were fixed on Josh in return.

"Well, suit yourself," Josh said and turned around to see the approaching John Hoynes.

"Josh," Hoynes said.

"Mr. Hoynes," Josh acknowledged his presence but refused to call him Vice President.

"It was a beautiful service," Hoynes said.

"Yes, it was," Josh said, and oddly enough he didn't find the small talk soothing.

"Jed Bartlet was a giant even if he had his own flaws," Hoynes said.

"Yes, he was. In fact, he was a giant with those flaws," Josh retorted. "How are the kids?" Josh asked.

"They are okay, although they hate their soon-to-be stepdad. Suzanne is engaged," Hoynes said with a shrug.

"I see," Josh said non-committally.

"Josh, I'm thinking about running for Governor of Texas and I would like you to run my campaign."

"Governor for Texas? After being Vice President of the United States?" Josh asked taken aback.

"Well, we saw how much that brought me 7 years ago. I still have the energy, Josh, and I'm a politician. I can't do anything else. I tried. I wrote all those books, but they are not enough, I still want to do something, something where I can make a difference," Hoynes said.

"Sir, I already have a job but even if I haven't I wouldn't take on your campaign. I do think that you are a good politician and I do think that you could win that gubernatorial campaign but I'm not interested," Josh said.

"You have a candidate?" Hoynes asked.

"I don't. Yet," he added then truthfully.

"Is it Sellner?" Hoynes eyes Sellner who was now talking to Sam and Charlie. Josh didn't want to talk to him for this reason really, he didn't want to confirm suspicions. He sent his envoys to feel Sellner out. He wished he could read Charlie as much as he could read Sam but the younger man was a good poker player. Sam, on the other hand, was not. And his creased brows bode not well.

"I don't want to talk about campaigns, this is a wake," Josh said, evading the answer.

"Is that a yes?" Hoynes pressed on.

"That is exactly what it is, sir," Josh said. "I was trying to avoid answering your question and this is the answer I came up with."

"So you are contemplating him," Hoynes asked.

"I don't want to talk about campaigns," Josh repeated his earlier sentiment and left Hoynes to meet up with Toby.

"Can you believe that?" he murmured when he reached his friend.

"What did Hoynes want?" Toby asked him.

"He is running for governor, he wanted me as his campaign manager. So did Liz, by the way, she is running for Congress," Josh informed him.

"Russell cornered me. He wanted me to be his campaign manager. I guess he knew he had no chance with you," Toby said with a well-hidden smirk.

"Well, he was right. He wants to run for President again?" he asked.

"Yeah, I don't know why though," Toby said.

"You asked him?"

"Yeah, I asked him why he wanted to be President of the United States," Toby told his friend. "I do think it's important to know."

"And what was his answer?" Josh asked.

"I told you already, I don't know," Toby asked. "You remember when the Majority Leader got the question before re-election?"

"Oh yeah, it was art," Josh said.

"Well, this guy is then an artist extraordinaire," Toby deadpanned and earned a chuckle from Donna who stood close to them.

"Why don't you run for President?" Donna asked them when they turned to her.

"We were never elected," Josh told her.

"Yeah, but you are the biggest players in the Democratic Party," Donna countered.

"Doesn't matter," Josh said. "And we are the guys behind the guy," he added then.

"Really?" Donna asked but then nodded.

"What do you think why would one wants to be President?" Toby asked Donna, and Josh congratulated him, he was very subtle.

"Well, it's the perks," Donna wisecracked. "You have Air Force and a big White House, also the Presidential Library when you are done. Plus, you can push through legislation you really want. Not always, but you are in a better position than a Congressman or a Senator. The big brains work for you, you can travel without a passport and you can veto stupid bills."

"Good reasons," Toby mused aloud. "What do you think, Josh?"

"Well, she had me at Air Force One. Commercial airline sucks after you ever experienced the luxury of Air Force One," Josh said with a grin complete with dimples. He didn't know but those dimples were the reason CJ, Sam and Charlie abandoned Senator Sellner and joined their conversation, and why Abbey dragged Zoey towards them.

"Why is a Presidential Library important though?" Toby asked.

"It's a nice thought to think about when you are reading briefing memo after briefing memo," Donna answered. "I don't know, maybe it's not that important. But it's definitely one of the perks. Besides, have you seen the movie with Jack Lemmon and James Garner? It was cool that they found the key evidence in that library."

This remark sent CJ and Sam into stitches, earned a groan from Toby and a grin (again complete with dimples) from Josh.

"Don't forget that you have your own movie theater," Zoey said.

"Really? I didn't know that," Donna said. "And the President can watch whatever he likes?" she asked Josh.

"Yeah, whatever the President likes they play it. And as President you can make all the staff sit through every movie you want."

"Why would I do that? If I had a theater all for myself I would never share. Maybe I would make them sit through one of Joanna's movies," she thought then aloud, making CJ, Toby and Sam laugh.

"I would sit through one of Joanna's movies sooner than any Hitchcock," Josh uttered under his breath.

"What was that, Josh?" Abbey asked him.

"Nothing." Josh shook his head. "You could also shape the future of the world," he added then somberly.

"Well, there is that," Donna said mimicking his solemn expression. "It's a hard work but I guess someone who wants to be a President would find that challenging. Have you ever been in the Situation Room?" she asked then Josh.

"Yeah, it's an intimidating place," Josh admitted.

"I thought so," Donna said. "Anyone else got any job offers?" she asked then, looking pointedly at CJ and Charlie.

"No, we already have a job," they chorused. "We are working for Josh' national campaign."

"I thought you didn't want to run." Donna turned to Josh.

"I don't, but I have my candidate," Josh said, after Charlie shook his head.

"You asked Matthew Santos again?" Donna asked. "I think he would be a terrific President."

"So do I but he said no again," Josh told her. "I might convince Helen to let him run as Vice President though," he announced, knowing that this was a surprise for everyone. Yeah, he didn't want to tell them that Santos was contemplating being a running mate for anyone Josh deemed right for President. "Abbey, could we use the study later? I think we need a conference call for this."

"Are you sure, Josh?" Toby asked him, pulling him aside.

"Yes, and you and CJ are running her show, I'm running Santos'," Josh told Toby.

"No, Josh, that wouldn't be right," Toby said.

"Toby, I find her enticing, I think she is fantastic and I adore her daughter. I always found her beautiful. Now, do you think I should run her campaign?" Josh asked him with a glint in his eyes. A glint Toby missed just as Josh missed the one in CJ's.

"No, definitely not then," Toby said, looking at Josh appraisingly. "Are you serious about this?"

"Yes, I am," Josh told him. "Abbey," Josh acknowledged the older woman who approached them.

"Are you sure, Josh?" Abbey said. "You might not win, she is too young."

"Do you think we can convince her to run for President?" Josh asked her in return.

"So you are sure. But you can't run her campaign," Abbey said.

"He knows that. CJ and I are running her campaign, Josh and Charlie are running Santos'," Toby informed Abbey.

"Good, good. And I think after I give her Jed's letter she would be ready to run for President," she told them.

"Really?" Josh asked with arched eyebrows. "He knew Sellner is not the 'real thing'?"

"He knew that he was afraid to think big, Josh. Just like you said," Abbey told him. "Let me get rid of everyone else, and then we can convene in the living room."

"You think that Santos is ready to be the Vice President to a female candidate?" Toby asked then Josh.

"I think once they talked about their ideas how to reform education they will become best chums," Josh said with a grin. "Inseparable, undividable running mates. Running mates who could sew up the nomination and definitely win against Leland," Josh said, stealing a glance towards the President of the United States who was currently talking to Lord Marbury.

"You think that the nomination will be harder to get than to actually win this election?" Abbey asked him, looking perplexed.

"Yeah, delegates are still 70 old white man," Josh said, looking glum for a minute. Toby stretched out his hand and Josh took it.

"Moss for America?" Josh asked hesitantly.

"Moss for America," Toby answered firmly.

_TBC_

_So tell me what you think, please leave a review.  
_


	4. Donatella Moss

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Donatella Moss **

* * *

"Josh?" Abbey stepped into her husband's study to find the former Deputy Chief of Staff at the phone. 

Josh lifted his index finger to signal that he needed some time and then started to say his goodbyes.

"So what did they say?" Abbey asked when he hung up.

"Helen was okay with the Vice President thing. And I think Matt was positively giddy when I told him about our choice. I didn't know they knew each other but he says they co-sponsored some bills. How is it that I never paid attention to the two of them when I was in the White House?" Josh asked.

"You had a legislative agenda on your own, Josh," Abbey told him. "I guess in your unconscious you knew about them, was even thankful to them when they introduced all those bills, but you had other things to worry about. You were pushing the President's agenda and you were asking prominent members of the House Democrats to sponsor our bills. And they were relatively low-key compared to some other members of the Democratic Party. You never had to strong-arm them to vote for our cause and when they voted against it you knew they would. Congress has 435 members, Josh, you couldn't keep eye on all of them. You watched the troublemakers, the rabble-rousers and the moneybags," Abbey concluded.

"Yeah, you are right. They never caused me concern. I remember some of the meetings I had with Donatella when she was the ranking minority member on the Science Committee, she was never a headache. We didn't agree on all of the things but she never caused a problem for the administration. She was a team-player," Josh said.

"That's right. Okay, the reason I disturbed you, Donatella needs a phone. She has to call Maple Bluff and she would rather do it undisturbed," Abbey said.

"Could you somehow convince her that I need to stay in the room?" Josh asked her. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Abbey!" he let out a chortle. "I just wanted to see her in action."

"Right, what was I thinking?" Abbey asked sarcastically. "Okay, I'll tell her that you are working on the campaign and you need the room."

"Thanks," Josh said and picked up Donna's file to study it further. There was a knock on the door some five minutes later, and when he called out Donna entered.

"Hi, if this is inconvenient…" she started but Josh shook his head.

"No problem, I hope I'm not in your way. It's just… I really need to read these files," Josh said, gesturing towards the three other files with the one in his hand.

"I know, Abbey told me that you are already working on the campaign," Donna said. "I'll try to make it quick."

"Take your time," Josh said, his eyes returning to the file but he had no intention to read anything throughout the phone calls Donna was going to make. "Where is Joanna?"

"She is playing with the kids in the backyard," Donna said with a smile. "Katie and she hit it right off."

Josh nodded, his eyes still seemingly focused on the file. Donna nodded to herself and picked up the phone.

"Hi, Tal!" she greeted someone at the other end of the line. "Listen, we were invited for dinner so I need you to reschedule everything I have tomorrow afternoon. … Yes, I know that I told you that I'd be back tomorrow morning but I also told you that I was not working until tomorrow afternoon. … Tal! Tal! Please calm down, what happened? … Okay, I'll call Mrs. Monroe. … Okay, and in the future, please don't schedule anything before checking in with me. … No, I'm not mad at you, Tal. … I'm really not. … Okay, could we get back to business? … Right. I need you to contact Anne Bancroft. … Yes, the principal. Did you honestly think that I wanted to contact a deceased actress? … Okay, Tal, that's it, what's the problem? … Oh, did he? And where was my mother at that time? … Okay, I'll take care of that when I get home. And right now we are going to talk shop. Contact Anne Bancroft, tell her that I need her at the fundraiser in two weeks. Tell her that this is not negotiable. … Right. If she wants to talk about it, schedule an appointment with me later this week. We need to kick off this new initiative. … That's right. … Oh, and I want Diane Lane… I know, I know, isn't that great that we have two celebrities in our circle? … Okay, Tal, I need you to call her and set up an interview with her. … Yes, she knows. … She knows, Tal, you don't need to warn her about it. … She was the one who did the interview for the Multimedia Classroom Initiative. … Yes, tomorrow evening if that's okay with her. … She is a member of the print media, we need her. … Yes, you are right, they need us too, but right now I need her more than she needs me, so I don't want to order her around. I'd like to know if she could do the interview with me and Julian. … Right. Thank you, Tal. See you tomorrow. Bye!" She hung up and stole a glance at Josh. There was no doubt, he was smirking.

"She is new," was all she said and then picked up the phone again. "Hello, Mother. … Yes, it was a beautiful service. … Yes, Mother, I have Republican cooties all over me. Yes, we shook hands, we exchanged some pleasantries and that was it. … Mother! He is the President of the United States! … Listen, could you put Leo on the phone? … Thank you. … Hi, honey. How was your day? … Yes, I heard about that and we'll talk about it when I get home. … Leo, I'm not mad. … Yes, that I am. I'm disappointed. But we will talk about it later. Now, tell me about the rest of your day. … That's sounds good. … Yes, she is okay. … They are very nice people. … Yes, he was here. … Really? … No, honey, President Bartlet didn't want a state funeral, it was his wish. … Right. Okay. … I love you, Leo," she whispered into the phone and then hung up.

"Everything all right?" Josh asked, looking up at her briefly.

"Fox News criticized us for not having a state funeral," Donna said.

"They are sour because the coverage would have been good to their ratings," Josh said, this time not looking up from his folder. "Is your son okay?"

"Yeah, he had a bad day in school and he wanted to skip class. He called my brother and he collected him from school with some lame excuses," Donna explained, not even knowing why it felt so good to share the problem with someone.

"And you are not mad?" Josh asked.

"Oh, I'm mad as hell but not at my son. He is a kid, he is supposed to try and test the boundaries. I'm mad at my brother and my mother," Donna explained.

"I see," Josh said and then chuckled. "You have Republican cooties all over you?" he asked with a smirk.

"Okay, I'm starting to have the impression that you were listening in on my phone calls," Donna said.

"I tried no to," Josh said.

"Well, you failed abysmally then," Donna said with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Okay, I'm going to tell you a secret."

"A big secret?" Josh asked not without trepidation.

"Kinda," Donna responded. "You see, my father was a Republican and I think my mother might be a closet one."

"You have a closet Republican in your family?" Josh asked back incredulously.

"Is that very bad?" Donna asked back with fake anxiety in her voice.

Josh, not realizing that, started to stutter and wanted to reassure her some way but was not succeeding. Donna finally took pity on him and let out a laugh.

"For God's sake, Josh! It's not like she is registered with the Republican Party," she said.

"But she is watching Fox News. And wait! She is making your son watch Fox News," Josh accused.

"Yes, that she does. I don't mind, Leo is not a political tool for me, Josh. He will never be. Once he is old enough he can choose to be a Republican or a Democrat. He can even be apolitical."

"Apolitical?" Josh asked back. "I remember you saying that's what's wrong with our youth, they are…" Josh said, and then shook his head.

"Yes, Josh, please tell me what I said," Donna retorted, anger seeping into her voice.

"Okay, I apologize," Josh conceded. "You said apathetic about the problems in America. You didn't say apolitical."

"No. And you know why? Because not everyone has to care about politics, but everyone has to care about the problems we are surrounded with. And that's what I'll expect from my son. I would like to see him making contributions to society, but politics is not the only way," Donna said.

"I know, I know," Josh said. "My mother is a member of a civil organization. They are taking care of sexually abused children," he said, not knowing why he felt compelled to share this information with Donna. Oh, he was attracted to her, but he never told anyone about his mother's work.

"Really? She must be a remarkable woman," Donna said. "I'm happy when…" she wanted to say something but then cut herself off. She didn't want to bother a stranger with her family issues.

"I don't want to rat out your sister but it was her who fed Joanna that lovely quote," Josh said, and seeing the expression forming on Donna's face, he hurriedly added, "I don't want to intrude on your family life, I just wanted you to know. I don't know how loyal your daughter is to her aunt, but seeing how loyal you are to your family, I just assumed that she is too. And I really should shut up and cease the rambling," he concluded.

"Thank you, I guess. I had a hunch that she picked it up somewhere. I was just hoping that it wasn't someone from the family. They are less than perfect, but who am I to complain? I'm not perfect any more than they are," Donna said with sigh.

"Your brother and sister are not Republicans, are they?" Josh asked back, his voice betraying his anticipation.

"Well, no. They are not even apolitical," Donna said.

"You mean they are Independents?" Josh asked back, sounding a bit hopeful.

"No," Donna said with a shake of her head, "they are apathetic. Unless they have some trouble with the system, they pretty much accept everything that comes their way, exactly the way it is thrown at them."

"And when they have trouble with the system?" Josh asked back.

"Well, then they are bad-mouthing whoever they feel is responsible for their misery. Usually they err in the person, but that doesn't hinder them," Donna added with a sad smile.

"Well…" Josh said, not knowing what to say. "But apparently you are working for the two of them too. I read about your Multimedia Classroom Initiative, it's quite something."

"Thank you. But the idea wasn't mine. Leo's principal is from a town near Madison. The school there was threatened to loose its choir and volleyball team because of fiscal problems. She offered the students of Franklin Elementary to join her school's choir and volleyball team. We applied this idea to the Multimedia Classroom Initiative. We set up brother schools which are in the same town or not farther away from each other than fifteen miles or rather half an hour drive. They would share equipment that they could loan to each other or they could have a class over from the other school to use the multimedia devices," Donna explained.

"But that was your idea. To apply the principle to your initiative," Josh said.

"Yes, that's right," Donna said with a nod.

"See, it's your initiative then, you made it a success, don't be so humble about it."

"If I remember right you four and Leo never told anyone outside the House whose idea it was to introduce this or that bill," Donna retorted.

"Yeah, it was every time the President's idea," Josh said nodding.

"I understand that," Donna said.

"You have a new initiative?" Josh asked then.

"Yeah, a not so popular one, I guess. I can see the headlines already, but I don't care. We need to ensure that the teachers of our kids are qualified enough to teach them."

"They have their degrees," Josh threw in.

"Well, Josh, let's see. Those fourteen doctors who operated on your chest had all degrees. How many of them do you think passed their thoracic surgery exams with a percentage below 90 per cent?" Donna asked boldly.

Josh cringed like every time someone brought up his surgery.

"I hope they passed it with an average of 99 per cent, Josh," Donna added then, seeing that Josh had no intention to answer. "You know my sister's ex-husband is a teacher," she explained further. "He passed his final exams with 65 per cent. What does that say about him?" Donna asked and then answered her own question, "That he only knows 65 per cent of the stuff he was required to know."

"You are right, that sounds bad. But they don't need half the stuff they study when they are teaching students in elementary schools or even high schools," he said, thinking about how pissed off the Teachers' Union must be with Donna.

"Well, okay. How am I to know that that 65 per cent covers everything he needs to know when he teaches his class?" Donna asked back.

"Okay, let's say I'm a lawyer and practice law. Do you think I remember everything I've ever learned in Law School? I'd look it up when I'm not sure," Josh said, noticing that Abbey came back to the room, leaving the door open.

"Okay, let's say you have a meeting with a client. She is telling you about her problem. You are not sure about something what do you say?"

"I tell her to come back next week or the next day and look it up," Josh said.

"See, the doctors don't have that luxury. Neither do teachers. The students ask something they await an answer immediately. Sure, they'll understand that you don't have to know everything but you have to know everything you tell them they have to know. Right?"

"Okay, but they know what to teach, they have textbooks, they could prepare for the next class," Josh said.

"Okay, Josh, I need you not to be that naïve," Donna said, noticing that Toby and Sam filed into the room. "You never heard about lazy people?"

"Sure, but not every teacher is lazy," Josh retorted.

"That's right, hence the Quality Assessment Program. Besides, it's not just about the quality of their education. It's about how they use their education while practicing their profession. It's how they conduct themselves while teaching our children. I had teachers who were condescending; I had teachers who were downright mean to students who were not in the Top Five of a class. They are not people who should teach the next generation," Donna said. "I just want an Independent Experts Board who would tour the state and perform quality assessments on teachers," she explained.

"Bet the Teachers' Union is not happy about that," Toby said.

"Toby, ultimately, it's in their best interest. It's in the parents' best interest, they don't have to pay hundreds of dollars on tutoring and private lessons. It's in the students' best interest to only have the most qualified teachers. And it's an investment in the future. Children lose respect for their teachers more and more every year. When they are faced with the decision whether to be teachers they remember how their teachers were. Incompetent, disliked, underpaid. A very attractive profession to pursue," Donna stated, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "That's a trend we have to change. That's why we don't have enough teachers in our public schools. We no longer have a horde of dedicated people who are willing to instill the respect for knowledge, the respect for hard work into our children. Our children grow up, thinking how to earn big money with as little effort as possible. We have to change that. Hardworking people are a laugh in this country, we look up to celebrities who earn their millions by appearing in an ad for jewelry. I don't say they can't be hardworking people. But we don't look up to them because they are working hard to nail down their characters or because they are working off their asses to make the movie ready by the deadline," Donna said. "But a farmer or a truck driver deserves the respect too. And yet when asked on the first day of school what's his father's job was my son's best friend was laughed in his face. Because his father was earning the money that sent his son to school by feeding and milking cows," Donna explained.

"We will win this election," Sam whispered to Toby with awe in his voice. Toby didn't say anything, but the small grin playing on his lips was response enough for Sam.

"Okay, I'm kidnapping Donna for a while," Abbey said, "I would like to give her Jed's letter. Josh, Toby, Sam," she said with a nod towards them before leaving the room with Donna.

"She is good," Sam stated. "She is fierce and passionate."

"That she is," Josh said with a chuckle. "A bit naïve, but I like that. And she is inventive. But I also have bad news for the PR-department," Josh said after turning to CJ who entered the room when Donna and Abbey left.

"What kind of bad news?" she asked with trepidation.

"Her father was a Republican, and I think her mother is a closet Republican. She is watching Fox News," Josh added.

"Donna?" CJ asked back.

"No, her mother," Josh clarified. "And I think the family is a bunch of morons, basically."

"Uh-oh," CJ exclaimed, casting a look at Toby.

"That's a marginal problem, CJ. I think Governor Moss is about to piss off the Teachers' Union," Toby said.

"That could be a good thing. President Bartlet was always criticized how close he was to the Teachers' Union," Charlie threw in his two cents after appearing in the doorway.

"Well, yeah, but we still need their support," Toby said.

"I think she can handle that. Besides, she is only doing it in Wisconsin," Josh said.

"Okay, Josh, reality check," Sam said. "If she is this fierce about implementing that in Wisconsin, what do you think would she decline an opportunity to do that nationally?"

"It's not a president's thing to tell states how to manage their schools," Josh said.

"Sure, but she could champion it as a president or as a candidate," Sam said.

"Where is Zoey?" Josh asked Charlie.

"She is outside with Ellie and the kids," Charlie informed him.

"I want her in on this conference call I will set up with Matt and Helen if Donatella accepts," Josh said.

"Why would you like to have her in on the conference?" Charlie asked.

"Because I value her output. I would ask Ellie too, but then I would be required to ask Liz too and I don't want that," Josh said. "I'm beginning to dislike your oldest sister-in-law," he confessed.

"I hear ya," Charlie said and then stood up to gather his wife.

The room fell silent after he left, everyone having something to think about.

"And Russell really asked you?" Sam asked Toby, breaking the silence after five minutes.

"Yes, he did," Toby said. "Hoynes asked Josh to run his gubernatorial campaign," he informed the others.

"He did not!" CJ exclaimed, looking questioningly at Josh.

"Yes, he did," Josh confirmed.

"Are you sure you don't want to run her campaign?" CJ asked Josh then.

"I'm sure. I kinda think she is hot when she is talking about politics," Josh admitted to his friends. "Oh, crap! I can't believe I told you that," he then tried to amend his remark but failed.

"I always felt the same about Andie," Toby said, a frown appearing on his face when he watched Sam and CJ who were giggling like teenage girls about Josh' confession.

"Okay, let's forget I said that," Josh said

"I'm sorry about Sellner, Josh," Sam said.

"Well, don't be. It's not your fault he can't reach for the stars," Josh said. "This will be an incredibly hard campaign, guys. Especially the first months until Super Tuesday. And we need someone with foreign affairs expertise on our team…" he paused while Abbey re-entered the room.

"Where is she?" Josh asked.

"She is upstairs in Zoey's old room, talking to Joanna. She will call her son too and then come back to us," Abbey said.

"I see," Josh nodded. "Maybe I should talk to Joanna too."

"I think Donatella can handle her, Josh," Abbey warned him.

"I'll be right back," Josh said, not paying attention to what she was saying.

"Okay, I think he is becoming very obsessed," Sam stated.

"He is infatuated," CJ said.

"He fell in love with her," Toby corrected them, earning some quizzical looks from everyone in the room.

Josh nodded when he heard that and then dashed upstairs. It was good to hear someone else saying out loud his thoughts. He knew it was too fast, he knew he should question his feelings, but for the first time in a long time he felt good. He was… content. That was the best word to describe the feeling. He knocked at the door of Zoey's old room and was let in. Joanna was sitting on Zoey's old bed, her eyes wide. Josh could see fear and confusion in those eyes.

"I was trying to explain to her what it entails to be President of the United States," Donna explained in a whisper. She didn't know when she accepted Josh as her confidant but right now she was grateful to have someone to lean on.

"Did you tell her she can ride on Air Force One?" Josh asked and then saw Donna's face. "You didn't. Donatella, you have to tell her the dangers and the perks. Joanna, when decisions are made you have to know about the positives and the negatives too. Now, what did your mother tell you about being President?" he asked her.

"She told me we would have to leave Wisconsin, Maple Bluff and all my friends. She told me we would have to move into an even bigger house, and that I would have Secret Service agents with me every time," Joanna rattled off.

"Living in the White House can be fun and the agents… They can be fun too" Josh said. "And they are there to protect you," he said, trying to reassure the girl at least about that. "The other things are true. But you could make new friends and Washington D.C. is a very interesting town. What else?"

"She told me she wouldn't have that much time as she does now. She said they could call her away even when I'm sick or when we play a board game," Joanna listed.

"Well, that's true. But you see, next year you are a first grader. You'll have school, homework and new friends. Your mother could get in the way of that," Josh said with a wink at the little girl.

"Guess so," Joanna said with a chuckle. "Nah, she couldn't," she said then, climbing into her mother's lap. Donna's hands instinctively encircled her waist. "Why do you want her? She is my mommy."

"And she will be your mommy forever. No one could ever do something that would change that, Joanna," Josh told her solemnly. "You'll always be her little girl and she will always be your mommy."

"Really?" Joanna asked Donna, twisting her upper body to be able to face her mother.

"He is right, Little Bug," Donna told her after placing a kiss on her temple.

"I guess then it would be okay. And you said it's not even sure you'd win," Joanna said then before flashing wicked smile at Josh.

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that," Josh said, returning the wicked smile. "Toby will make sure that she wins."

"Josh, would you mind to stay with her while I call Leo?" Donna asked him then.

"No, of course not. We could leave you alone," he offered then.

"I'm thirsty," Joanna stated, looking at her mother pleadingly.

"Okay, Josh will bring you to the kitchen then. You had enough apple juice for one day, Joanna. I'd like you to drink some water instead."

"But Mommy!" Joanna whined.

"Impervious," Donna said with a grin.

"Ah, Mommy!" Joanna exclaimed but then put her hand into Josh' and they left the room. "What is Air Force One?" she asked Josh immediately.

"It's the President's airplane," Josh explained. "It's very big and it has all kind of fun things."

"Like toys?" Joanna asked.

"I guess they have toys. They have really comfortable seats and beds…" Josh continued but Joanna interrupted him.

"Beds?"

"Yes, beds for the First Family," Josh said.

"Who is the First Family?" Joanna asked.

"The President and his or her family," he explained. "You'd be called First Daughter."

"Cool," Joanna said, squeezing Josh' hand in excitement. Josh squeezed her hand back gently as they continued their way to the kitchen in silence.

"Your mommy is very smart," Josh said when he gave Joanna a glass of water.

"I know," Joanna said with pride in her voice. "Grandma says she was always a smart aleck."

"Grandma Moss or Grandma Turner?" Josh asked.

"Can you keep a secret?" Joanna asked after looking around searchingly.

"Of course," Josh said with a nod.

"I've never met my Grandma Turner. She lives in Florida and she never visits with us. She sends Christmas cards and calls us on our birthdays but I've never met her real."

"I see," Josh said, nodding again.

"You said the White House can be fun. What is there?"

"There is this big movie theater," Josh began, "which belongs to the president."

"We would have our own cinema?" Joanna asked, her eyes alight with excitement.

"Yes," Josh nodded with a grin.

"Could I watch Blue's Clues there?"

"What's Blue's Clues?" Josh asked Toby who entered the kitchen.

"It's a TV show for preschoolers. You like it?" the former Communications Director explained and then turned to Joanna.

"Yes. Leo says it's for babies but I still like it," Joanna admitted.

"Nothing wrong with Blue's Clues," Toby told Joanna and then turned to Josh, "it's educational."

"I talked to Leo," Donna said, entering the kitchen. "He said he could live with it for eight years."

"You are in?" Toby asked Donna then.

"Yes, I'm in. But are you sure you want to give your name to my campaign?" she asked, looking hesitant and unsure.

"Well, I guess if you are not opposed to have me as your campaign manager then I'm not opposed to see my name tied to the name of the next President of the United States," Toby said unusually elaborate.

"Okay, I'm going to set up the conference call," Josh said. "Bye, Joanna," he said and then leaned closer to whisper into her ear. "And when you are watching your favorite movies in the White House movie theater remember whose idea it was to put your mommy into that big house. I'm counting on an invitation."

"Deal," Joanna said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Josh brought his hand to his face and smiled brightly as he left the kitchen.

_TBC_

**Next up...**

_ A conference call with Santos, also Josh and Toby fly home with Donna and Joanna.  
_

_A/N: Since I'm not American, and I can't seem to find this info anywhere, I'd like to ask for some help regarding this question. If a governor runs for President should he/she resign his/her office right when he/she starts campaigning? I would be forever grateful if someone could help me or point me in the right direction. You can PM me or just tag the answer to a review. ;)  
_


	5. Candidates and Issues

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Candidates and Issues  
**

* * *

When Toby and Donna returned to the study room Josh was already talking to Matt and Helen Santos.

"Here she is, sir," Josh announced Donna.

"Hi, Matt. Helen, it's nice to hear from you," she greeted the couple.

"Donna! How are you? How are the kids?" Helen asked.

"Leo skipped school today. Joanna is here with me, she is having a good time. Could you believe that the granddaughter of a former President is acting as her babysitter?" Donna asked with a chuckle.

"Really?" Helen asked back. "Well, I guess, your daughter will outrank every other kid very soon."

"Matt, is this really okay? I mean it's not just Josh being pushy?" Donna asked Matthew Santos, throwing a quizzical look at Josh who seemed to be offended.

"He can be pretty persuasive but it's really okay this way, Donna. I really didn't want to run for President but I think I could serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States. We could do good together," Matt answered.

"Yeah, that's right. Okay, then. I really don't know what we should talk about right now, it was Josh' idea to have this conference call."

"Josh, what did you want to talk about?" Matt asked.

"Well, sir, I thought we could talk about some core issues. See if you and Governor Moss really are on the same page," Josh said.

"He is refusing to call you Donna?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, I noticed all those sirs too," Donna said with a short laugh.

"And he calls me ma'am," Helen piped up.

"Could we get back on track and maybe forget about me for a minute?" Josh asked Donna. "Sir, do you know about the governor's new initiative?"

"Yes, I do know about that. How did Clark take it?" Matt asked, referring to the head of the Teachers' Union.

"He was pissed. He is still pissed," Donna told Matt. "I don't care, this is something the state administration can do and I'll do it, even if it's not popular."

"I agree. I was trying to convince my staff about the same but they didn't back me on that one. Maybe, if you are successful I can bring them on board. Josh, do we stay together for the primaries?" Matt asked his campaign manager then.

"Yes, sir, at least in the first two months. Then maybe we could split up. We could work the states for Super Tuesday separately. Getting our message out there as a united front," Josh said.

"Okay," Matt agreed. "But Josh, I want this campaign to be about the issues. At least my part should be about it. I refuse to be the designated hatchet-man. If you need someone to trash Leland you can continue looking for him."

"Sir, let the campaign strategy to me, please," Josh asked him.

"Josh, I don't care what you talk Donna into although I think it's pretty obvious that you can't rope her into something she doesn't want to do, but I won't stand on the sidelines looking nice and Latino just to get the votes. I want to raise issues. I want to talk about the problems gnawing on America's society," Matt pressed on.

"Sir, with all due respect…" Josh wanted to insert but Donna cut him off.

"Matt, he didn't tell you?" Donna asked Matt then.

"What did he not tell me? Josh?" Matt asked back, sounding confused.

"He is gonna be your campaign manager, he can't rope me into something, that will be Toby's job," Donna clarified.

"But why?" Matt asked.

"You already know me, sir. Charlie and I will help you, Toby and CJ will help the governor, and we will work together very close," Josh said, hoping that the explanation was enough for Santos.

"I want Ronna in on the campaign, also Bram Howard, my personal assistant," Matt said.

"Okay, they can come," Josh said, sighing aloud. "What is the first issue you would like to talk about?"

"Education," Donna and Matt said in unison.

"Well, that's swell," Josh murmured. "New Hampshire is retail politics. They won't vote for you unless you had tea with every one of them. Stump speeches about education should be spoken in front of a larger audience."

"Then gather a larger audience, Josh. I would like to talk about making the school year longer, the required school days should be upped to 210 gradually. I would say over a 10 year period. We already talked about this with Donna, and we agree. I think that this should be announced in New Hampshire and we could hammer on in Connecticut, New York, and every other metropolis. The state of Oregon already tried to do this and failed, but I think it should be done on federal level to be really a success," Matt explained.

"Why is this such a pressing matter?" Josh asked.

"Josh, the United States is the 50th in the world in literacy, that's one place down compared to 2004 and several places down compared to 2000," Donna said. "The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy in 2004, today we rank 30th. That's a shame! The old system was based on the fact that extra hands were required during the summer months hence the kids had to be at home helping their parents instead of being in school learning. That's not the way it is today. Today a kid's first responsibility is and should be school," Donna concluded.

"Exactly," Santos said. "And we need to raise the standard of education in our schools. Nobody should be left behind, and the teachers should be held accountable for their work. In every other profession you would be fired if you screwed up, teachers stay put even when they fail students every time. Josh, the American workers are so ignorant and lack so many basic skills that businesses spend more than $30 billion a year on remedial training. That is not effective. And not only businesses must pay but also parents. They pay for the tutor or for the private lessons. And you know who are asked to tutor pupils? Teachers who fail to educate our children! So they get their salaries and also some money out of the pocket of parents which means that parents have to pay for them twice," Matt explained.

"But it's also because parents are not able to help their kids anymore," Ellie inserted, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Sorry, I… I didn't know…"

"No, it's okay, Ellie," Josh said with a smile, "go on."

"Parents are not able to help their kids for two reasons. They don't have or take the time and they don't have the knowledge. Because schools don't teach how to educate ourselves, they just drill something into our brains. Science gets more complex every day. Parents don't know anymore what their children study in a math or geography or biology class. They fear that their kids would laugh in their face if they didn't know something. But even if they wanted to educate themselves and therefore study their children's textbooks they can't get it because they didn't learn how to learn, they were just expected to know what in the textbook was," Ellie said.

"That's true," Toby said. "I take a look at Huck and Molly's math homework and I'm willing to climb the wall. And they are only in junior high."

"That's the other problem. Children are required to know so much more now than they were, let's say, 20 years before. We don't necessary need to teach more, we just need to make sure that they are open-minded people who know how to educate themselves. I mean since I graduated from Johns Hopkins I had to learn to forget some of what I thought was right and had to learn things I had no idea of. Let's make this simple with an example. Pluto. We always thought Pluto was a planet. 2006, ka-boom, Pluto is not a planet anymore. Or DNA. Every day we learn something new about DNA. I read somewhere that Americans are now spending more money on gambling than on movies, videos, DVDs, music, and books combined,"" Ellie said. "No wonder they can't keep up with the ever-changing world."

"Exactly," Abbey agreed. "As a doctor you have to educate yourself or you stay behind. Teachers usually don't read on new research, or they don't confront new theories. They just teach what they always taught."

"That's right," Donna said. "With the Quality Assessment Program I plan to initiate, we would pick out the teachers who don't measure up and send them to get additional training. They would be required to pay half the tuition the other half would be paid by the state government. We plan to make it mandatory for every teacher to participate in some kind of college course every five year. Universities in Wisconsin are willing to do weekend and evening courses for those teachers."

"Sounds good," Matt said. "You want to put that idea out for every state?" Matt asked. Toby groaned, Josh hid his face in his palms and Charlie grinned like an idiot.

"You should see what you did to them, Matt. They are quite an ensemble," Donna said with a chuckle. "I don't think I will. However, if a reporter or journalist asks me about the program I won't miss the chance to promote the idea. I don't want to push this on a federal level, I can't. But maybe I could convince some other governors to follow," Donna said, flashing a grin at Sam.

Josh and Toby sighed with relief, and Charlie was still grinning.

"Listen, Donna, I know we should talk about health care during the campaign but I would also like to talk about law enforcement and security in the neighborhoods," Matt said then, making Toby groan again.

"Law enforcement, sir?" Josh asked.

"I have read a communiqué of The International Association of Chiefs of Police. They say the cuts Leland enforced have left our country more vulnerable than ever. I have some really disturbing numbers and data; I will fax them over to you, Donna. Nearly one out of four Americans believes that using violence to get what they want is acceptable. Official statistics on child abuse are not available since 2002; they ceased to make them after that. But back then there were 900,000 children who were abused or neglected. Can you imagine that number today? And here is one that's really outrageous and really made me angry. The leading cause of death of pregnant women in this country is murder," Matt said.

The room fell silent and every look drifted to Zoey, and Charlie cringed at that information.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked then.

"I'm pregnant," Zoey informed him. "And the others are staring at me but they shouldn't. Especially, because I knew about that statistic. Pregnant women are often abused or murdered by their spouses or boyfriends," Zoey said. "I really think that we should do something about child abuse and about abuse against women. There are shelters and organizations that help them, and I make a donation every year but it's not enough. They shouldn't be forced to go into hiding, there must be tougher laws against child and woman abusers," Zoey concluded.

"I would like to make some campaign stops at such organizations and shelters," Donna said. "I know that some of the places are secret and hidden but I could make a visit and then speak about what I saw."

"That can be done," CJ said. "I know several organizations."

"Thank you, CJ," Donna said. "Would that be okay, Matt?"

"Yes. Josh? Is it okay to push tougher laws against child abusers?" Matt asked then his campaign manager.

"Sir, don't make me look like I don't care," Josh said in a strained voice. He was visibly shaken. "I just want the two of you elected so that we can push those laws from the White House."

"Sorry, Josh, I didn't want to insinuate that you don't care," Matt apologized. "But are we clear that we want to talk about issues and not just parrot everything that was already said by every Democrat who campaigned for presidency?"

"We are clear on that," Josh said and Toby nodded. "Anything else?"

"I would really like to target young people in order to get out their vote. In the last election more than a third of eligible voters didn't show up and the largest group was the under 25," Donna said. "I want to see a strategy how to mobilize them and also the rest of the non-voters."

"That will be Toby's task," Josh said. "Okay, I think we are done for now. It's dinner-time, and we don't want to keep you, sir. Tomorrow, Toby and I are flying to Wisconsin to set up the campaign, and then I'll come to you, sir, if that's okay."

"Completely okay," Matt said. "Charlie, thank you and see you later. Dr. Bartlet, our heartfelt condolences to you again, you and your family will be in our prayers. Donna, I'll call you the day after tomorrow. Good bye!"

The others echoed his goodbye and then the conversation was over. Every one looked at Donna and she smiled back at them.

"He would have been a terrific president. And now, dinner! Abbey, how can I help?" she offered.

"You should stay here and talk to them," Abbey said.

"Nah, I'll see them enough. Besides, they want to talk about me so we should kidnap Ellie and Zoey and retreat into the kitchen," Donna said with a glint in her eyes.

"Then you can peel the potatoes," Abbey said with a chuckle. "Zoey, come with us; Ellie, you should check on Annie and the girls. Charlie, you know how to switch on the computer, you should order those tickets for Josh and Toby."

Dinner was delicious, and Josh made an effort not to talk about the campaign. Liz wanted to get back by dinner but couldn't make it, but Annie and Gus were there. Josh was telling them stories about their grandfather.

"You didn't tell him that!" Zoey shrieked with delight.

"Yes, I did. It was 2 in the morning; he was boring me with National Parks trivia for almost two hours by that time and just suggested that the staff should make a field trip to Shenandoah National Park. I couldn't think right, I was exhausted and it slipped. He didn't take it as an offense though. I think he secretly enjoyed it because he was able to punish me for it with some more trivia."

"So that's why you looked like death warmed up twice the next day," Donna inserted.

"Yup, that was the reason," Josh said with a fond smile.

"Charlie, do you remember his indecisiveness about which Bible he should use at the inauguration?" CJ asked him.

"Yeah, he wanted the Washington Bible then the Bartlet Bible and we ended up with some Bible from the Senate's Library," Charlie said with a chuckle. "The President went on about how it looked new while it was purchased ten years ago. He made me buy a new one for the Senate's Library because he wanted to keep that Bible in his office. And every time a Senator came to visit he pointed out the Bible and asked them why they thought it looked so new," Charlie remembered, making every one at the table laugh.

"Every once in a while he would call me at college and tell me about new courses I should take. I didn't know how he did that but he knew of every nerd course there was," Annie said.

"He was surfing the net," Abbey explained. "Donatella taught him how to do that."

"Really?" Annie asked, looking at Donna.

"Sorry," Donna said with an apologetic smile.

"I remember the last Christmas in the White House," Gus said. "I lit the Christmas Tree and we had a long talk about something. I don't remember the topic anymore, but it felt so good talking to him. He was a great grandpa."

"That he was," Annie said. "The best."

"To Jed Bartlet, best Grandfather and President in the whole wide world," Sam said.

"To Jed Bartlet!" they rose their glasses and drank in remembrance.

After Abbey stood up to clear the table, Josh left to call his mother. He told her about Donna and Joanna and asked her about her day. She was surprised that he called but was glad that he did. He then went back to help Sam to do the dishes and they talked about their White House years again while Donna and Toby were talking about Wisconsin politics, sipping the rest of the wine at the kitchen table.

Josh finally sent all of them to bed and went back to the study room to collect his folders. He found Zoey there, crying.

"What's wrong, Zoey?" Josh asked her.

"My children… will never… know him. To them… he won't be the best Granddad… ever," Zoey told him, choking on her words.

"You'll talk about him," Josh said, pulling her into his arms. "You and Charlie will make sure that they remember him. He loved you so much, Zoey. And I know you miss him terribly but he is at a better place now," he tried to reassure his friend.

"I know I should be grateful that he went while he was still able to remember so many things and still knew who he was but I want him to come back to see his grandkid," she said, placing her hand across her abdomen.

"I know, Zoey, I know," Josh said. "But he will see your children, I'm sure if someone can see their loved ones after death it's your dad."

"Yeah, quite the stubborn male," Zoey said with a little smile. "Thank you," she said, let go off him and left the study room.

"Should I do something while you are in Wisconsin?" Charlie asked, stepping into the study while Josh was organizing his files.

"Yeah, call Joey Lucas in California, we will need to put a poll into field. Once she agreed, I will contact her with the details. We need opposition research on Matt and Donna. I need a new assistant and I want you to put together voting stats for Matt, Donna, Kendrick, Kennison and Wells," Josh said. "Start probably with the new assistant, she could help you with that."

"You want me to find you a new assistant without you being there?" Charlie asked him.

"Charlie, you know me the best. If I conduct interviews I'll never have an assistant. I don't really like them; they are a nuisance, but I need one. I'll take whomever you see fit and play it by ear after that," Josh said.

"Okay then," Charlie said. "Voting stats," he murmured then.

"I want to see how many times they voted along party lines. When did they vote against a Democratic bill? Is there a pattern? Those kinds of things," Josh explained.

"Okay. And thanks, Josh," Charlie added.

"She is my friend, Charlie," Josh said and they both left the study.

_TBC_

_A/N: Thanks to everyone for the help. Especially Heather who gave me detailed info about the topic. Thank you! And since it was asked more than once already, I'm Hungarian. ;)_

**Next up…**

_Josh visits Wisconsin and Texas._


	6. Bonding

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Bonding**

* * *

Joanna attached herself to Josh while Donna and Toby went over some things related to her campaign. They arrived timely at the airport and had to wait for boarding. Joanna became bored pretty fast so Josh asked Donna's permission to take her on a little shopping tour. Donna agreed but forbid them to actually buy anything.

"Josh, why doesn't he like me?" Joanna asked while Josh was skimming some books he always wanted to read. He just got home six months ago and his plan to read the books he always wanted to read was already put on a back burner.

"You mean Toby?" Josh asked back absent-mindedly, and Joanna nodded. "He doesn't know you but that's going to change pretty soon," Josh said, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "Toby is a great friend to have, Joanna. He once saved my life. But he is somewhat grouchy and grumpy. You have to charm her, but I don't see a problem here," Josh said, looking at Joanna appraisingly. "You are cute, you are peppy. And you are beautiful just like your mother."

"I'm all those things?" Joanna asked back incredulously. "What does peppy mean?"

"It means that you are full of energy," Josh explained.

"Then Mommy is definitely peppy," Joanna said with a chuckle. "And what about you?" she asked then hesitantly.

"I wouldn't call myself peppy rather bouncy," Josh said.

"Like Tigger?" Joanna asked.

"Yeah, just like Tigger," Josh said with a chuckle, Zoey once made the same comparison.

"But do you like me?" the little girl asked.

"I very much like you, Joanna," Josh said. "I mean, why else would I spend time with a five year old if I didn't like her?" he asked then with a wink.

"Because you are Tigger, and Tigger likes kids," Joanna said irrefutable.

"Are you sure about that?" Josh asked back teasingly.

"Deep in his heart he likes kids," Joanna said, sounding convinced.

"I see," Josh said. "Okay, I have my books; did you see something you'd like?"

"No, thank you. Mommy said we shouldn't buy anything for me," Joanna said.

"I see," Josh said and then picked up the book Joanna was eyeing. "I'll take this too. It seems interesting," he said completely serious.

"It's a book for kids," Joanna said.

"Tigger likes kids and Tigger likes books for kids," Josh explained, still with a serious expression on his face. Joanna nodded, the logic seemingly pacified her. The shopping bag in one hand, Joanna's hand in the other, Josh made his way to the gift shop. He wanted to send his mother something. "I want to pick up something for my mom, would you like to help me?" he asked Joanna once in the shop. The little girl bobbed her head enthusiastically.

They walked around in the gift shop twice, once making a quick reconnaissance (while Josh was trying to teach Joanna what the word meant and how to pronounce it right), and making a choice the second time. They emerged with a scarf, hand-painted, made of silk and very classy. They returned to Donna and Toby, talking about their favorite books.

"Mom, Mommy!" Joanna exclaimed when they reached her mother and Toby.

"Yes, honey?" Donna asked back. "Is something wrong?" she questioned Josh while her daughter caught her breath.

"No, everything is fine," Josh said with a little smirk.

"Mommy! You won't believe it! Josh' favorite book is the same as mine," Joanna said.

"_One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish_?" Donna asked.

"Yes, he learned to read with that book," Joanna said. "Just like me." She added, turned back to Josh and started to quote the book:

_This one,_

_I think,_

_is called_

_a Yink._

_He likes to wink,_

_he likes to drink._

_He likes to drink, and drink, and drink._

_The thing he likes to drink_

_is ink._

_The ink he likes to drink is pink._

_He likes to wink and drink pink ink._

_So..._

_if you have a lot of ink,_

_then you should get_

_a Yink, I think._

"What's your favorite, Josh?" Joanna asked then.

_"Oh me! Oh my!_

_Oh me! Oh my!_

_What a lot_

_of funny things go by._

_Some have two feet_

_and some have four._

_Some have six feet_

_and some have more._

_Where do they come from? I can't say._

_But I bet they have come_

_a long, long way._

_We see them come._

_We see them go._

_Some are fast._

_And some are slow._

_Some are high._

_And some are low._

_Not one of them_

_is like another._

_Don't ask us why._

_Go ask your mother."_

Joanna laughed, and Donna was all smile too while Josh recited his favorite passage. Then they called their gate and they boarded the plane. Joanna was torn with whom to sit but then Josh pulled out his books, making Joanna's decision easy. Donna and Toby continued their earlier conversation until Donna felt the urgency to check on her daughter.

"Hi, honey, how are you?"

"We are okay, Mommy," Joanna answered. "Josh is reading to me," she said while pointing at the big book which was stretched out in Josh' lap. "Look, there is Little Chilly with the blue feet!"

"I thought I said not to buy anything for Joanna," Donna looked sternly at Josh.

"It's not for me, it's for Josh," Joanna said. "He likes children books," she added as an explanation.

"You know you are lucky that you were able to quote Dr. Seuss, otherwise I would be very suspicious right now," Donna said, her eyes still showing some annoyance. "What's the title of this book?"

"_365 Penguins_," Josh and Joanna said in unison while Josh–after placing his finger on the page they were on–shut the book to show Donna the front page.

"Okay then," Donna said and left them to their book, after telling them that they would land soon at O'Hare and they have to change planes there.

They arrived in Madison around 2 pm; Donna's driver was already waiting for them. They rode to Maple Bluff right away. Josh said good-bye to Joanna, they had to set up a meeting with the local DNC guys and look for a venue to launch their campaign. Of course, New Hampshire was their first target, but that was still a couple of months away, and Josh and Toby decided that they need to open up the first office in Madison, Wisconsin.

When Donna, followed by Josh and Toby, stepped into her office, she was almost sure that her staff started gossiping right after the door of her office was closed.

"Do you think they are talking about me?" she asked Josh, sounding unsure and anxious.

"I guess seeing Toby Ziegler and Josh Lyman live is not an everyday occurrence in their lives," Josh said with a smug grin, "so I'm pretty sure that they are talking about us."

"Could you take your ego out for a walk, Josh?" Donna asked him then. "I think my humble mansion is not big enough to accommodate it."

"Okay-okay," Josh said chastised, "I'm sure they are gossiping about you. But I don't think they will be able to come to the right conclusion," he added with a smirk. "By the way, where is your assistant? Shouldn't she be in here, asking what you need? You were gone for…" Josh said but was cut off when the door flew open.

"There is a rumor…" a young woman in her mid-twenties said, stopping at the sight of Toby and Josh. "I guess it's not a rumor anymore," she added then.

"Tal, meet Joshua Lyman and Toby Ziegler," Donna introduced the two men, "and this is my assistant, Tallulah Thompson."

"Mr. Lyman, Mr. Ziegler, welcome to Maple Bluff," Tal said with a smile. "Do you need your itinerary for tomorrow, ma'am?"

"Yes, Tal. And then you'll have to set up some meetings for these gentlemen. And I want you to be discreet. No gossiping at the water-cooler, Tal! Everybody knows that Mr. Lyman and Mr. Ziegler are here, but I don't want them to know why. At least, not yet."

"You shouldn't worry about that, ma'am, I don't know the why either," Tal said with an impish grin.

"I guess after setting up the meeting you'll have a pretty good idea," Donna said. "Make sure that those meetings are conducted outside this office and to make the phone calls from his Blackberry," she said, pointing at Josh. "You could show them the scenery or something while making those calls. Thanks, Tal. Give me five minutes and then come back please with the itinerary."

Tal jotted down Donna's requests and then turned back to Donna, "Do you or your guests want some coffee, ma'am?"

"Tal, did we or did we not have a conversation about you bringing me coffee?" Donna asked the girl coolly.

"We did, ma'am," Tal said with a nod. "But you have guests and…"

"We could have a coffee while you are making those phone calls for us, Tal," Josh said. "My treat."

"Thank you, sir."

"Josh," Josh corrected her.

"No use," Donna said after Tal left her office. "She won't call me Donna and she knows me. Don't expect her to call you Josh just because you flashed your dimples at her." Donna paused for a moment, looking at Josh and Toby as if assessing what she should do with them. "Okay, gentlemen, I have this interview this evening, until I finish you are on your own. I'll ask Mrs. Rogers to get the guest rooms ready, but you should be able to make yourself presentable in a few minutes. Go over to the residence, they will bring you some refreshments if you'd like."

"Thank you, Governor," Josh said and ushered Toby out of Donna's office when Tal knocked on the door.

They spent their afternoon with setting up the meetings. Toby also told Josh what he and Donna had been talking about that morning. Josh wanted to discuss some of the topics but then realized that Donna's campaign was Toby's campaign and he shouldn't throw in his two cents without being asked. He offered his help and Toby said he would definitely need it later. He even smiled for a brief moment.

Around six they went back to the residence where they found two guestrooms ready for them. Josh decided to take a nap, telling Toby to get him when Donna finished the interview. He changed into his pajamas, slid under the cool covers and fell asleep in five minutes. He didn't hear the knock, he didn't notice that someone peeked into his room and he didn't see when a little girl left wrapping paper and a self-made card on his desk. He awoke feeling well-rested. He picked up one of his books and then his gaze fell upon his desk. He picked up the card and smiled. Joanna made a gift card for his mother. He was rummaging in his bag, trying to find the scarf when he heard a knock on his door.

"Are you awake?" Toby asked, poking his head in.

"Yeah. Is she finished?" Josh asked then.

"No, they are still talking," Toby said. "She said to start dinner without her."

"Okay," Josh said, putting on his slacks and sweater.

"It's us and the kids," Toby said with a pained expression, and Josh flashed a grin at him. Toby, while adoring his own children, was still always cautious around 'short people' as he called them.

"You met Leo?" Josh asked while combing his hair. Or at least what was left of it.

"Yeah, and he is… Well, I don't know how to put it, but he is on the rebellious side," Toby informed Josh.

"Really?" Josh asked surprised. Leo was only eight years old, rebelling usually set in later. At least that's what he heard.

"Yeah, looks like he thinks he is already a teenager," Toby said with a tired sigh. "He is pretty lippy for his age."

They entered the dining room together, and Joanna greeted Josh with a hug.

"Josh, this is my brother, Leo Turner," Joanna introduced her brother.

"Nice to meet you, Leo," Josh said, stretching out his hand for a handshake. Leo stared at him for a few seconds and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, that was pretty rude from someone who haven't even said a word to me," Josh remarked to Joanna half-aloud.

"Yeah, he can be like Toby sometimes," Joanna said with a smirk. "But he is a great brother to have. He saved my life once. Okay, he is somewhat grouchy and grumpy. You have to win him, but I don't see a problem here," Joanna said, repeating Josh' words almost word for word, making Josh howling with laughter.

They took place around the dinner table in silence and remained so until Donna arrived.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, sensing the tension.

"No, Leo is his charming self and Josh and Toby don't know what to do with him," Joanna reported.

"Well, then we should remedy that. Leo, how was your day?" Donna asked, and Josh watched in surprise how the sulking boy changed into Donna's amiable son.

"We learned about deserts and savannas today," he recounted his day. "It was really interesting, Mom. Math was boring, and we were taking turns in reading again. Mrs. Hudson said I did great. I even got a sticker."

"How many do you have?" Donna asked.

"Five with this one, I need five more," Leo said excited. "After P.E. we went to the greenhouse to look after our plants. Lois' looks better than mine."

"I'm sure that yours will be okay too," Donna said with a reassuring smile. "How was G&T?"

"There is a new kid in school and he comes to G&T, too. He plays chess, but I'm better than him," Leo remarked, making Josh grin. The boy had a healthy ego, and he could see why his grandmother said that he was conceited. But he also agreed with Donna, this was only self-confidence. Nonetheless, he was curious how Donna would handle him.

"Will you help him to get better?" Donna asked, and Josh was flabbergasted. He thought she would say something that would take his ego down a peg but he had to admit Donna's method was better.

"Of course, Mom," Leo said without hesitation. "Timothy was over for a while," he added then.

"Did you have a good time together?" Donna asked.

"We practiced reading," Leo answered. "Aunt Frankie gave me five dollars."

"For practicing with Tim?" Donna asked, sounding light-hearted, but Josh could see that a storm was brewing behind those incredibly blue eyes.

"Yes," Leo said.

"He gave the money to Tal," Joanna piped up. "He told her to put it into the money-box for the dog shelter."

"Jo!" Leo shrieked on the top of his lungs.

"That's what you did," Joanna said coolly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Come here," Donna said, beckoning Leo closer. "You did good today," she whispered to him and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Mom," Leo whined, stealing a glance at Josh and Toby.

"You play chess?" Toby asked, helping the boy through the awkwardness.

"Yes," Leo said. "I'm the best chess player in my school."

"No boasting, Leo," Donna warned him.

"Okay, Mom, but I'm the best player in the school."

"That you are," Donna said with a proud smile, and then turned to her daughter. "And what did you do this afternoon, young lady?"

"I drew some things and read some books," Joanna said, sounding almost dismissively as if saying that she did nothing extraordinary.

"What books?" Donna asked.

"Okay, one of them was a coloring book and I did two pages," Joanna confessed. "The other one was _One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish_."

"And what did you draw?" Donna asked.

"It's a secret, Mommy," Joanna whispered, stealing a glance at Josh who was smiling mysteriously. He winked at her mischievously when he saw that Donna didn't look, and Joanna flashed a grin at him.

"Am I going to get a headache when I see what you did?" Donna asked with trepidation, catching only Joanna's grin.

"Definitely not," Joanna said, shaking her head.

"Okay. I'm not 100 per cent reassured but I can live with that," Donna said with a slight smile.

After putting Joanna and Leo to bed, Donna invited Josh and Toby for a drink in the living room, but Toby declined, saying that he needed to prepare for the meetings the next day. Josh accepted the invitation although he feared that he could betray his feelings when left alone with Donna.

"Did Tal give you the tour?" Donna asked after handing him a glass of wine.

"Yes. And the scenery is really beautiful. That lake in the backyard? Very attractive," Josh said. "Whoever designed it, was a genius to put it on the shore."

"It was designed by Frank Riley," Donna informed him, barely able to suppress a smile when he saw Josh' deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. "Construction started in 1920 and was completed in 1928. The State of Wisconsin bought the mansion for 47,500 dollars in 1949."

"Interesting," Josh inserted, suppressing a groan.

"It comes with a park and gazebo. Did Tal show you the gazebo? I've heard your were very fond of gazebos," Donna said with a chuckle.

"Katzenmoyer?" Josh asked, that time not being able to suppress his groan.

"Yep, he told me about it on a Christmas Party," Donna said. "They called you Bartlet's pit bull," she said, sounding almost questioningly.

"Yeah, they called me that," Josh admitted. "I used to tell me they called me that because I was fierce and loyal, but I'm old enough to admit that was not the reason. They saw me as a hostile, never-letting-go, always-up-for-a-fight political operator," Josh said and shrugged his shoulders. Those days were gone, he not only mellowed; his ego had to suffer some pretty big blows. Losing important legislative battles, being told off by Leo countless times, and at last the defection of a Democrat, those were the things that made Josh realize that he was not invincible. He wanted to believe that he became a better man because of it, but on some days he doubted himself just as much as he did before he attended college.

For some reason, he told all about that to Donna. She was sympathetic and a good listener. She didn't cut him off; she asked some questions but didn't pressure him to talk about things he didn't want to talk about. She just let him tell the story.

"Sorry, I didn't want to bore you with the story of my life," Josh apologized after he finished.

"You didn't," Donna said, taking his hand into her. "Josh, I think you needed to be that man, the President needed you to be that man at that time. Times change, so do men. You've changed. A lot. If you think, if you feel that you are a better man then I think you are a better man. You don't have to be Bartlet's pit bull anymore, and you were never his pit bull without a reason. Besides, I very much doubt that you were a pit bull at home."

"Well, I wasn't at home too much," Josh said, looking down at their hands, clasped together.

"Bet your mother never saw you as Bartlet's pit bull," Donna said.

"No, I guess not. But I guess Amy did," Josh said, and Donna let go off of his hand. He knew she would but he felt a sting in his heart nonetheless.

"Ah, your infamous girlfriend!" Donna exclaimed and then backpedaled right away. "Sorry, that was a mean thing to say. I just…"

"You just didn't like her," Josh finished her sentence, and when Donna wanted to say something he lifted his hand to stop her. "No, don't. She was not a likeable person. I know, my friends told me many-many times."

"Why did you stay with her so long?" Donna asked gently.

"We never were together long. Six month was the longest I think," Josh said. "Then we would take a time out."

"And this worked?" Donna asked with wide eyes.

"Two years ago, I realized that we would never work," Josh said. "Amy didn't want to let go. Then I went to England for a year and when I came back six month ago I made my case again, and this time she agreed."

"I see," Donna said with a nod.

"You never thought about marrying again?" Josh asked her gently, signaling that she didn't need to answer if she didn't want.

"We were married for three years, those weren't the best three years of my life so I never thought about marrying again. Although, to tell the truth, no one ever asked me again," Donna said. "Anyways, if it weren't for Leo and Joanna I wish I could erase those years from my life," she added then in a whisper. "When he died I was sad but I was also relieved. I wanted to divorce him but when he learned that I was pregnant with Joanna he wouldn't let me."

"Why did you marry him?" Josh asked.

"I thought I loved him. It was only infatuation," Donna said. "He was very handsome and strong. I was flattered that a man like him showed interest in me. Then I got pregnant with Leo and he asked me to marry him. He was a well-respected man in Madison, a doctor. I should've known, I always had problems with doctors, even in college. Anyway, he said we should marry because if we didn't, both our careers would suffer the consequences. My then Chief of Staff agreed," she concluded, and this time around Josh took her hand into his. "She was… they were right. If I faced the same situation today I wouldn't do it again, it was really the worst experience in my life."

Josh nodded and squeezed her hand gently.

"We should get some sleep," Donna said then, looking down at their joined hands.

"Oh, you'd like to get your hand back then," Josh said with a sheepish grin.

"That'd be nice," Donna said with a grin.

"What if I'm not ready to let go?" Josh asked, his grin disappearing.

"We are politicians, we could negotiate," Donna said calmly.

"What do you offer?"

"Next time we meet I could give you a kiss on the cheek," Donna offered.

"A kiss on the cheek right now and a real kiss next time we meet," Josh said.

"For my hand?" Donna asked back incredulously.

"Hey, it's a beautiful and delicate thing," Josh countered.

"Two kisses on the cheek next time we meet," Donna offered.

"No kiss right now and a real kiss on the lips next time we meet."

"A quick peck on the lips right now and no kiss at all next time."

"Let me tell you that that was the worst proposition so far. I want to get a kiss next time so we have to work towards that," Josh said.

"Okay, you can give me a little kiss on the hand right now and you get a kiss on the cheek next time we meet," Donna offered.

"Deal," Josh responded immediately before Donna could change her mind or before she realized that she should have made her conditions clear. Josh lifted her hand, turned it over and pressed his lips against her palm. Donna's eyes narrowed but then a little sigh left her lips. Finally Josh let go of her hand and stood to leave the room. While walking out the door he turned back with a grin, "See you tomorrow!"

"Wait!"

"It's too late, we have a deal, Donatella," Josh said teasingly and then left the room altogether.

But Josh underestimated Donna. He woke up pretty early but Donna was already in her office so they couldn't have breakfast together. Tal said that her boss couldn't see anyone until late afternoon, so he set off to meet the local DNC guys without the promised kiss. The meeting went relatively well, although Toby lost his patience once. After the brunch meeting Josh asked Tal to get him a ticket to Houston the next day, but it seemed that his luck really left him. He had to fly out either that afternoon or two days later. Josh picked the afternoon and then went to the residence to pack up. He wrote a letter to Joanna, a short note to Donna and then left for the airport.

He arrived in Houston shortly after eight and was picked up by Helen Santos. He apologized for arriving earlier than he said but Helen brushed his apologies off. By the time they arrived back, the kids were already in bed and Matt was waiting for them in the living room.

"Josh, right before we start anything, I want you to tell me the real reason why you wouldn't direct Donna's campaign," Matt told him.

"Sir, I gave you one of the real reasons," Josh said, suppressing a yawn.

"Are you tired?" Helen asked.

"Yep, but I'll live," Josh said with a wave of his hand. "The other reason was Donatella."

"I see," Helen nodded but Matt looked confused.

"I don't see it. You said she was the 'real thing' and now you can't support her?"

"Well, sir…" Josh started, scratching his head to hide that he was uncomfortable.

"Matt, don't be dense," Helen admonished her husband. "He likes Donna," she explained then.

"But if he liked her he would run her show," Matt was still confused.

"Yeah, and this is the man you wanted to run for President," Helen said, turning to Josh. They shared a laugh, and then Helen turned back to Matt. "Honey, Josh likes Donna," she said, emphasizing the word _like_.

"Oh!" Matt exclaimed then and then flashed a brief grin at Josh. "You old goat!"

"Honey… May I remind you that we have a ten year old age gap?" Helen said, sounding sweet and dangerous at the same time.

"Okay-okay. No more teasing Josh."

"Good boy. Now, Josh, I'd say you get some sleep and we talk tomorrow," Helen suggested.

"Could you call me a cab?" Josh asked the woman.

"Donna's assistant didn't tell you?" Matt asked him.

"No, what?" Josh asked suspiciously.

"She asked Ronna for a good hotel, and I was there so I told her not to book you a room, we have a guest room, you can bunk there," Matt explained.

"Sir, that wasn't necessary," Josh said.

"Nonsense, Josh," Matt said. "We'll practically live together for the next year, might as well get used to it."

"You or me, sir?" Josh asked back cheekily. "Besides, we'll live in motels and hotels."

"Come on, Josh, you look like death on a Triscuit," Helen said, making Josh chuckle. It was one of Zoey's favorite phrases.

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_Thanksgiving in Wisconsin _


	7. Thanksgiving in Wisconsin

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Thanksgiving in Wisconsin**

* * *

Josh called his mother before boarding the plane, making sure she didn't mind that he didn't spend Thanksgiving with her two times in a row. His mother reassured him that she didn't, asked him whether he had her gift to Joanna and after he checked his hand luggage she hung up. Josh called Charlie then and after wishing the Bartlet family a happy Thanksgiving, he switched off his phone. He regretted for a moment that he didn't fly in with Toby and the kids, but then remembered why he wanted to travel alone. It was because he wanted to arrive alone. Strange as it might seemed he was really excited about meeting Donna and about getting a kiss from her, however chaste that kiss might be. After arriving at the airport he took a cab. He didn't tell anyone when he would arrive because he wanted to really surprise Donna. He didn't want to give her time to trick him again. 

He arrived Thursday morning; the airport reminded him of a beehive he once saw on TV. Toby and the kids flew in on Wednesday, spending the night at their hotel. Josh had a room in the same hotel so he told the cabbie to bring him there first. He checked in, changed into his suit and then left for the Executive Residence of the Governor of Wisconsin.

He realized that he can't just waltz in there so he called Toby that he was coming. Tal was waiting for him outside, for Josh' surprise.

"You are spending Thanksgiving with your boss?" he asked her.

"It's not like I didn't want to spend it with my parents but they live in Hawaii, and I just didn't have the money to fly out," Tal said. "The Governor invited me to spend it with you. You don't mind, do you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Josh dismissed her worries and then sent her a dimpled grin. "Where is Donatella?"

"She is in the kitchen, Joanna and Gabriel are with her. The others are huddled up in the living room, they are watching some parade," Tal informed him. "The Santos family is due in one hour."

"Thank you, efficient as always."

"Well, I try, and the Governor said I was better now," Tal said humbly.

"Okay, you were off to a rocky start but you are a damn good assistant, Tal," Josh said. "You know if the future President of the United States didn't need you, I'd steal you."

"I spoke to Charlie yesterday," Tal said with a chuckle. "He was so sure that Roberta was a keeper."

"Well, she obviously wasn't," Josh said, shrugging his shoulders. "Do I look okay?"

"A bit rumpled but I hear that's your usual appearance, so yeah, you look okay."

"Thanks for the pep talk, kiddo," Josh said and then entered the kitchen. Two energy balls came at him in a hurry.

"Josh!" Joanna shouted.

"Uncle Josh!" Gabriel exclaimed at the top of his lungs.

Josh hugged both of them. Joanna wanted a kiss. Josh saw that Gabriel didn't so he put on a serious expression and shook hands with CJ's son.

"Hello there," he greeted then Donna with a sheepish grin. This was their first meeting since their deal; Josh spent the last three weeks in Texas and the D.C.

"Hi there, stranger," Donna said.

"It smells good," Josh complimented.

"Well, I hope so because there will be a bunch of people to feed. Although I have fish fingers and ice cream in the fridge if something goes wrong."

"Very resourceful," Josh said with a smirk.

"Well, my first Thanksgiving was a mess, I overcooked the turkey in fear of undercooking it, the mashed potatoes were sodden and the gravy lumpy. And there was nothing else in the fridge so we ended up ordering Chinese takeout. Not much fun on Thanksgiving."

"Well, I love ice cream," Josh said reassuringly.

"I made everything _kosher_," Donna imparted then, stealing a glance at Josh which he caught.

"You shouldn't have," Josh said, stepping closer, inspecting what she was doing. "It can be a strenuous exercise for the first time. I have eaten non-kosher meals in my life. So did Toby."

"I know, but you two are so nice to us, I wanted to do this for you," Donna said.

"Thank you," Josh said, sounding solemn.

"Mommy, what's _kosher_?" Joanna asked then.

"Well, I'm sure Toby would be more than happy to explain that to you," Josh said, before Donna launched into an explanation.

"Come on, Gabriel," Joanna said and literally pulled CJ's son out of the kitchen.

"She is a bit bossy," Donna said apologetically.

"She is peppy," Josh said.

"Yes, she told me you told her that," Donna said with a smile.

"Okay, I think I've waited long enough," Josh said, closing the gap between himself and Donna. He offered his left face to Donna, waiting for the kiss with a barely hidden grin.

"What are you doing, Josh?" Donna asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Collecting my reward in accord to our agreement made two weeks ago," Josh said, leaning a bit back to see Donna's face.

"Your reward?" Donna asked, as if she had forgotten what she agreed to.

"For letting go of your hand although I didn't want," Josh whispered.

"Well, I remember that I agreed to give you a kiss on the cheek next time we meet," Donna said.

"Yeah."

"So you can't collect your reward unless I give it to you," Donna teased him although Josh didn't seem to realize this.

"Donatella, we made a deal," Josh warned her in a low voice.

Josh counted on further misdirection, even on protest, but Donna surprised him again by simply leaning over, giving him a kiss on the cheek. When she pulled back his face broke into a huge smile complete with dimples. She leaned over again and kissed the dimple on the right side of his face.

"That was very magnanimous, thank you," he whispered. "And now," he said, leaning over, "I missed you, Donatella," he admitted and placed a little kiss on her mouth.

Donna giggled afterwards, making Josh frown.

"Am I that bad a kisser?" he asked pouting.

"No, but I thought you missed me," Donna said teasingly.

Josh leaned over to give her a deeper, more passionate kiss but Donna pushed him away.

"Too late, Joshua, you should have grabbed chance by the tails while you had it," she said teasingly. "Taste this," she asked him, holding out the spoon for him.

"Yummy," Josh said truthfully. He had his misgivings earlier but the gravy really tasted delicious.

"Hey, mi amour!" CJ entered the kitchen at this moment. "How are you?"

"Thanks, I'm fine, CJ. It's good to see Gabe, he looks great."

"Well, we are taking good care of each other," CJ said. "Danny and his mom wanted to have him, but since he visited with them last Thanksgiving I was able to convince them to let him come with me to Wisconsin this year. I think he enjoys it."

"Well, who wouldn't," Josh murmured.

"What did you say?" CJ asked him, smiling mischievously.

"Nothing that should be repeated," Josh said. "How is Toby?"

"Well, I think he was starting to lose it because of the parade but right now he is explaining what kosher is, so I guess he is in his element," CJ said. "Did you tell Joanna to ask him that just because you wanted to be alone with the beautiful mother?"

"CJ, you know, you are extremely damaging to my image as master politician extraordinaire," Josh whined.

"What can I say, I live to serve the humankind," CJ retorted sarcastically.

"Children," Donna said in mock warning.

"Oh, my God!" CJ exclaimed, looking at her like she had just sprouted three heads.

"Yeah, she sounded like him," Josh said flabbergasted. "I would have never thought that but she just sounded like him."

"Who, and like whom?" Sam asked, entering the kitchen.

"Donna, and she sounded like President Bartlet when he called us children," CJ explained.

"Really?" Sam asked surprised. "Well, she can spew trivia just like him. I know next to nothing about the building I live in, and she just told me about her mansion in a ten-minute lecture."

"You had that too?" Josh asked him.

"Josh, I told you about it in less than two minutes. Besides, you shouldn't push your luck," Donna warned him, her tone playful but there was a serious-seductive undertone directed at Josh which he luckily caught.

"Yeah," he said and because nothing else came to mind he repeated his very eloquent "yeah".

"760 verbal, Josh?" Sam asked mocking him and then left the scene with a satisfied expression on his face indicating that his job here was done.

"You had 760 at your verbal SAT?" Donna asked back.

"Yeah, why?" Josh asked back.

"Oh, nothing," Donna said, dipping her head to hide her smile but Josh noticed it anyway, watching Donna like a hawk.

"Oh, my gosh! Don't tell me! You had 770!" Josh exclaimed.

Donna moved her index finger, indicating that he should go higher.

"780?" Josh asked.

Donna moved her finger again, smiling shyly.

"790?" Josh asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, baby!" Donna said punching the air, her fingers forming a 'V' for victory, much to CJ's delight.

"Alright, alright," Josh said after letting out an exasperated sigh. "No need for a victory dance, it was like ages ago," he said.

The remark earned him a whack from CJ and a glare from Donna.

"Oh, CJ, what the…!?!" Josh exclaimed but then noticed Donna's glare; he knew he needed a save. "You really look beautiful tonight," he tried to amend his previous statement.

"Oh, Josh, you can really be sweet sometimes. But also dense," CJ said, leaving the kitchen with a laugh.

"You really mean that or did you just try to get back on my right side?" Donna asked him calmly.

"I really think that you look beautiful. And not just tonight," he added then. That earned him another kiss on the cheek. He touched his face where Donna's lips were before, a wistful look crossing his face. "You know that for the sake of gradual continuity you have to give me four kisses next time we meet," he said, a wolfish grin appearing on his face.

"This is a holiday so it's the exception. According to our deal, you were entitled to get one kiss tonight and therefore next time we meet you will get two," Donna retorted.

"And you'd be entitled to get two kisses from me," Josh said, his grin still in place, "Since I gave you one today."

"Deal," Donna said, letting out a laugh after seeing Josh' surprised expression. "What, Josh? It was a good kiss, even if it was on the chaste side," she added with a chuckle. After that admission they stared at each other for at least five minutes.

"The Santos family is here," Tal announced loudly, making Josh and Donna jump slightly.

"That makes the guest list full, right?" Josh asked Donna.

"Well, my mom is supposed to be here, too," Donna said, sounding less than enthusiastic. " But I don't know. She wanted to have Thanksgiving with Frankie and Mike too. So she might be offended and won't show. Given the circumstances that would be the best, she lives to criticize my cooking. And I really don't want Matt and Sam to hear that."

Josh suppressed a groan at the news. He didn't meet Mrs. Moss last time he was here, but Toby did and he told Josh everything that transpired between them. Let's just say, he didn't looked forward to meeting Donna's mother.

"What about your sister and brother?" he asked then.

"Frankie is spending Thanksgiving with her new boyfriend, they are skiing in Colorado, so TC is celebrating with us; Mike is spending the holiday with his ex and the kids in Eau Claire."

"I see," Josh said. "Frankie is Francesca, that I guessed, but what does Mike stand for?"

"Michele," Donna told him.

"Your father didn't object?" Josh asked then with a smile.

"He didn't dare, he was afraid of his mother-in-law. Grandma Rossi gave us the names. She also said that she won't include us in her will if Dad didn't agree. So he agreed," Donna explained.

"May we come in?" Josh heard a familiar voice.

"Of course!" Donna said. "Come on in! Josh is here too."

"Sir," Josh greeted Matt with a handshake. "Helen, it's good to see you again," he kissed Matt Santos' wife.

"Josh, loosen up, will ya?" Matt asked him. "We are celebrating Thanksgiving together; you should call me Matt at least on these occasions, okay?"

"Okay, sir. Sorry, Matt," Josh said. "Where are the kids?"

"We left them in the sitting room. If I heard right Toby was telling his audience the differences between Christmas and Chanukah."

"Oh," Donna said, throwing a nervous glance at Josh.

"Nothing to worry about. CJ was right; Toby is probably in his element. Besides, he would do almost anything to escape the Macy's Parade not to speak of the Disney Parade," Josh reassured her.

"What happened?" Helen asked.

"I sent Joanna to Toby to ask what _kosher_ means. He obviously launched into a lesson in Judaism," Josh told her.

"He would be a good teacher," Sam said, stepping into the kitchen. "You should see your assistant, Donna. He got her hooked. And the kids are planning to celebrate Chanukah," he added with a chuckle. "He was talking about _latkes_ and _dreidel_ when I left."

That earned a chuckle from everyone. Sam then nudged Josh into the ribs, reminding him that he should introduce him to the Santos-couple.

"Oh, yeah!" Josh said in embarrassment. "Helen, this is Sam Seaborn, best friend extraordinaire and also Governor of the merry state of California. Sam, this is Helen Santos, mother of two amazing children and beautiful wife of the Mayor of Houston."

"Wow, Josh, maybe you should chuck the campaign and become a Master of Ceremonies or something like that," Sam said, after shaking hands with Helen while both of them were laughing hard.

"And I think you know Matt, Sam, so I won't introduce you to him," Josh said, waving his hand dismissively, still being slightly embarrassed.

"Hi, Matt, it's good to see you again," Sam said while shaking Matt's proffered hand.

"Governor of California. Who would have thought after you set the White House on fire?" Matt said with a chuckle.

"You told him about that?" Sam asked Josh accusingly.

"Helen asked me to tell stories about the White House years, that was the first story that came to my mind," Josh said defensively.

"Hey, there is a party here!" CJ exclaimed when she returned to the kitchen with Tal.

"CJ, you know Mr. and Mrs. Santos?" Josh asked her in a hurry.

"Yeah, we met once at the studios," CJ reassured him.

"Tal?" Josh asked the assistant.

"Yeah, I welcomed them at the door, so we made introductions there," Tal told him.

"Good, good," Josh said reassured.

"Okay, while I'm glad that you are all here, I need some space. The TV in the study is tuned to the sports channel; the one in the sitting room is hooked up to a DVD-player and is for the kids. Josh, I'll need a hand with the turkey, so if you could stay…" Donna told him, a blush appearing on her face.

"Glad to be of service," Josh said while he ushered the others out of the kitchen.

The turkey was done, the stuffing was ready, the gravy was cooked, the cranberry sauce was heated and the potatoes were mashed. Josh and Donna carried everything into the dining room. Miranda, who just got a new camera for her birthday, was there to take photos of the entire process. Donna then sent her to call everyone to enjoy the Thanksgiving food.

"God, I'm so full, I couldn't eat one morsel more," Sam said. "Donna, everything was so delicious, thanks for inviting us."

"Thanks for coming, Sam. It means a lot to me," Donna returned. "You are excused." She turned to Josh who was already fidgeting in his chair next to Donna. The kids were already gone, watching a DVD that was good enough for everyone from the five year old Joanna to the thirteen year old Peter. Although he claimed that he only watched it because his father asked him to keep an eye on the lot.

"Thanks," Josh said, leaning over to place a little kiss on her face and then hurried off to the study room with Matt, Toby and Sam, but then came back again, "I will do the dishes after the game," he whispered to Donna.

"Josh can be so sweet sometimes," Josh heard Helen saying as he was leaving again. He chuckled to himself; he wasn't sweet, he just wanted some brownie points with Donna.

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_Donna's intention to run for President is announced but it's a harmless picture that dominates the first few days of the campaign.  
_

_A/N: Thanks for the great reviews so far! You guys rock. ;) _


	8. The Picture

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**The Picture **

* * *

"There's gonna be a picture," CJ said while having a conference call with Josh and Toby.

She was working out her two weeks notice with the channel but she was actually not doing anything that could be considered work. The network didn't want to be accused of bias. Josh knew that being a news-anchor was not CJ's dream job after being Press Secretary of the President of the United States, but she needed something to be able to feed and dress Gabriel. Danny was very supportive both emotional and financial, and Josh knew that CJ can count on him. Danny told him in no uncertain terms that he didn't need Josh' help, he could take care of his family on his own. Josh was sad that it didn't work out for CJ and Danny but he knew that they both loved Gabriel above all.

"What kind of picture?" Toby asked her from Wisconsin. He was now basically living there and in the DC, sharing his time between his kids and his job. Senator Wyatt, Toby's ex-wife, said she understood and after spending Thanksgiving in Wisconsin the twins were more supportive of their father, too.

"Well, I don't know, but since _I_ got the tip I would say it's gonna be a picture of Donna," CJ guessed.

Josh inhaled sharply. He knew that they couldn't have had any picture of him and Donna since there were no pictures of him and Donna.

"Is it an old picture?" Toby asked Josh' question.

"I don't know any more than this. Do you want me to come to Wisconsin, Toby? I'm sure they'd be happy to let me go. I'm a liability," CJ said.

"You need to move back to DC, CJ," Toby said. "Get settled with Gabriel, work out everything with Danny. I will deal with the picture."

"Okay, let me know as soon as there is something concrete," Josh said, hanging up. Ever since he left Donna he had a bad feeling in his stomach. The Monday after Thanksgiving they announced the bid for presidency. Josh left with the Santos family and spent the last two weeks in Houston, Texas.

Of course, that fact did nothing good to his mood. He hated Texas. Hoynes was from Texas, making the state a constant reminder of Josh' own opportunistic side. He thanked for Leo's offer many-many times throughout the years, and wondered many-many times whether he would have stayed with Hoynes if Leo wouldn't have come. He only hoped not.

And it naturally reminded him of failed election strategies. Little did it help to boast his ego that even the great Bruno Gianelli couldn't deliver Texas when he was hired by Leo to help the President's re-election bid.

And Josh was sure that neither Donna nor Matt will be able to carry Texas. So no matter what kind of strategy they worked out for Texas, it was failure written over it from the first moment on. Yes, Matt was popular in Houston and they would probably get the Latino vote in Texas, but those things didn't mean anything in a presidential campaign. Besides, they would have to convince Texans to trust Donna with running their country, and Josh couldn't envision that the majority would do that.

And he needed a new media consultant for Matt's campaign. Although he didn't know how to pay for it before they won the nomination. But he desperately needed one. He was trying to work out which issues to stress but he needed someone who could tell him those things. He didn't want to stress Toby with his request, besides he had a very capable deputy campaign manager. He called Charlie the previous day and told him to get a media consultant. Charlie was one step ahead of him, and gave him a list of possible media directors. The problem was that the list contained two names, and Josh knew they were best ones to get, but he wasn't quite ready to call either one of them. So he pretended to have lost Charlie's list, and to make it sure that everyone believed him, he really did lost it. Or rather misplaced it, as he pointed out to Charlie later, of course he didn't want to tell him that he disposed it. His deputy offered to fax the list again, but Josh said it could wait.

So he had enough to worry about without the picture, but throughout the day his mind kept wandering back to it. Otto, his new assistant, one he found in Texas ten days ago, was avoiding him because of a dressing down the previous day. Josh knew that he wasn't a stellar boss, all he wanted in an assistant to keep him organized. Otto had forgotten to sync his Blackberry with his laptop, and Josh was late for a meeting because of that. But Otto was working out fine, although Josh thought that at 32 a young man should have the courage to stand up, even if to his boss. But he didn't want to judge Otto prematurely, he did that a lot when he had been working in the White House and he learned that he really shouldn't. Maybe Otto was just afraid to lose his job, he mused and then decided to forget Otto for the rest of the day. He needed a media director for Matt Santos' campaign.

"Hi, Toby," he picked up the phone after seeing the called ID. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, you didn't tell _me_ that you needed a media director, but then again who wouldn't for a Texan Democrat?" Toby asked. "So I have a name for you, Josh, you might want to jot it down."

"Listen, Toby, if it's Louise…"

"Her name is Louise Thornton and she is looking for a job," Toby interrupted him. "She was lined up to work for Hoynes but said no," Toby told him.

"Toby!" Josh whined and then something struck him. "She turned Hoynes down? The man's war chest is over spilling with gold."

"You know Louise Thornton?" Toby asked.

"Yeah, we know each other. She would never come to work for me," Josh said.

"If you don't want her we'll have her. Plus, I already called CJ about it, and she lined up another media director for you," Toby said.

"Who?"

"Mandy Hampton," Toby said without missing a beat. "You might remember her, Josh, she was…"

"Okay-okay! Tell me Lou's number and shut up," he said good-naturedly to take off the edge of the rude remark.

Toby gave him the number and Josh sat there, staring at it for the next couple of minutes, then hollered, "Otto!"

"Yes, master?" Otto appeared in the doorway.

"Did you just snark me?" Josh asked him, looking up from his Blackberry where he was reading his messages.

"What does 'snark' mean?" Otto asked then.

"Well, I'll let you find out after you made a call," Josh said, returning to his messages. "Set up a meeting with Ms. Thornton for me," he said, handing him the note with Lou's number without looking up. "As soon as possible, please. She still might be in Texas."

"Uhm, are we talking about Louise Thornton, media guru extraordinaire?" Otto asked Josh, this time getting the attention of his boss.

"Yes. You know her?" Josh asked his assistant.

"Well, we've met before," Otto said cautiously. "Are you considering hiring her as media director for the campaign?"

"Would that be a problem for you, Otto?" Josh asked sarcastically.

"Well, if it would I know where my place is. You would fire me before I could say 'Lou' again. I'm dispensable, she is not," Otto ranted.

"Well, as long as we are clear about that," Josh said, but then gave the younger man a smile. "Otto, don't sell yourself short, you are the first assistant in eight months who stuck around longer than three days. That's saying something," Josh said with a grin.

"Well, if you put it that way, boss," Otto said, returning his grin. "Hey, do we have any dating policy?"

"For the campaign?" Josh asked Otto with an arched eyebrow, and the young man nodded. "Well, as long as I don't know any details, you do in your spare time whatever you want. Just don't expect to be there much of that. I mean spare time. Living on the campaign trail does nothing good to one's sex life not to speak of love life."

And that's when it hit him. He needed to see Donna before New Hampshire. He needed to tell her how he felt because after that chaos would ensue and before they realized they would be propelled into opposite corners of the country. Once the nomination was sewn up they will have to split up, he has to travel with Matt Santos, and Donna with Toby.

He already had his tickets for a brief visit to Florida during Chanukah. While Otto was setting up his meeting with Lou he decided to call Donna and ask her if she would like to have him over for Christmas.

"Joshua," she greeted him, sending a jolt of happiness through Josh. She, saying his name, had always had the same effect on him.

"Donatella," he greeted her. No other words were needed, their full names were enough; they served like terms of endearment. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good. Actually, right now, I'm great," Donna said, and Josh felt that she was smiling.

"That's good to hear. Did Toby tell you about the picture?"

"Yeah, he told me about it," Donna said with a tired sigh. "Josh, I really don't know what kind of picture that is."

"I didn't call you to harass you about the picture," Josh said gently.

"You didn't?" Donna asked, sounding surprised.

"No, that's Toby's job," Josh said with a grin. "But, listen, if he gives you a hard time about it just tell me and…"

"I'm not the damsel in distress, Josh, and even if I were I can be my own knight in shining armor," Donna told him coolly.

"I'm starting to regret calling you," Josh whispered.

"Well, isn't that swell…" Donna said but then cut herself off. "Oh, God, what am I doing? I'm so sorry, Josh. I didn't want to snark you, it was just… Both Paul and Tom acted like I was some kind of Barbie doll they had to protect from every wind and storm," she explained. "I really appreciate your offer though. Could we start this conversation over?"

"Of course," Josh said, smiling despite his anger.

"Joshua," Donna greeted him again, and there it was; the jolt of delight running through his veins.

"Donatella," Josh returned the greeting. "Listen, I didn't call you because of the picture so let's not talk about that."

"So, why did you call me then?" Donna asked, and Josh saw her smiling in his mind.

"I'm spending the first three days of Chanukah with my mother. Matt is spending Christmas with his family, and I was invited to spend it with CJ and Gabriel but I know they will have Danny over and I don't want to be the odd man out. Sam also invited me but while as a Jew I'm not observing Christmas traditions I would never spend this time of the year in California. Toby is going to be holed up in his DC apartment, missing his kids and I'm not that miserable to join him," Josh said.

"So you are saying that you have nowhere to go on Christmas?" Donna asked him.

"Yes," Josh said, almost begging.

"Well, that must be remedied. What about an invitation from the Governor of Wisconsin?" Donna asked him jocularly although the undertone was lost on him.

"Donatella," he said, almost breathed into the phone, "I don't want to be invited by the Governor of Wisconsin."

"How about a Donatella Moss-invitation then?" Donna asked him.

"Well, _that_ I would be more than happy to accept," Josh said, sounding positively exuberant.

"Okay then. When shall we expect you?" she asked then.

"I will tell Otto to book a ticket for me and then…" Josh wanted to say but Donna cut him off.

"Josh," she said. "You didn't want to accept an invitation from the Governor of Wisconsin. I don't want Otto to book you a ticket; I want you to take care of it yourself."

"Donna, you actually want me to land in Wisconsin and not, let's say, in Canada, right?" Josh asked her.

"You are that hopeless?" Donna asked with a chuckle, her anger obviously dissipated.

"Well, that and more," Josh admitted.

"Okay, he can help you, but I want you to look up the flights and book the ticket on your own. Would you do that for me?" Donna asked, and Josh didn't miss the wistful tone in her voice.

"That and more," he repeated in a whisper, earning a relieved sigh from the other end of the line. "25th, in the afternoon?" he asked then.

"I thought you wanted to spend Christmas here, Josh," Donna teased him. "Your concern for my family is touching but I shall await you on the 24th, lunch will be served around 1 pm, dinner around 7."

"Okay," Josh said, feeling excited again. "Finally I know how my classmates felt before Christmas," he admitted then to Donna.

"How are you feeling?"

"There is excitement, there is anticipation and there is slight trepidation, to tell the true."

"Well, that's exactly how we feel around Christmas, Josh. What are you excited about?"

"Seeing you again," Josh said without missing a beat.

"And what are you anticipating?" Donna asked.

"Kisses," Josh said.

"As in plural?" Donna asked jokingly.

"Yeah, definitely in plural," Josh countered soberly.

"And why are you feeling trepidation?" Donna asked gently.

"I fear that sooner or later you'll realize what a jackass I am," Josh confessed in a low voice.

"Well, I think you are a sweet jackass; so I guess we've got that covered," Donna said.

"I'm sweet?" Josh asked back, humor seeping back into his voice.

"Yeah, we agreed that you are sweet," Donna said.

"Who is 'we'?"

"Helen, CJ, Tal and I. On Thanksgiving, while you were watching TV," Donna explained.

"You were talking about _me_?" Josh' voice got high-pitched at the end, making Donna giggle.

"Oh, my gosh! Just like CJ said," Donna said, already howling with laughter.

"What did CJ say?" Josh asked, his voice getting dark.

"That your voice breaks when you are embarrassed," Donna told him. "Well, she was right. And Josh?"

"Yes?" he asked back hesitantly.

"You are sweet," Donna said.

"Couldn't I be handsome or charming?"

"Matt is handsome, Toby is charming. When he wants to be, of course," Donna added.

"Toby is charming and I'm sweet?" Josh asked back incredulously.

"Josh, sweet is very good. Sweet is what I like," Donna confessed.

"Then I'm happy to be sweet," Josh said. "But couldn't I be sweet and handsome?"

"Don't push your luck, Joshua," Donna admonished him.

"Hey, what about Sam?" Josh asked then.

"Sam is cute," Donna answered with a giggle.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Josh said, already trying to figure out how to tease Sam about that.

"Josh, you are not going to tease Sam about that, are you?" Donna asked him seriously.

"Well…"

"Okay, Tal is here, I need to hang up. Don't do anything I wouldn't and you should be okay. Send a message when you are done with booking your ticket," Donna said.

"Will do. Well, bye," Josh said, although he hesitated before speaking. He wanted to say so much more but he also wanted Donna to say it back and with Tal in the office he knew she wouldn't.

"Bye," Donna said in a gentle voice and a shiver ran down his spine. It sounded like a confession, and Josh took it as a good sign.

"Otto!" Josh shouted and then waited impatiently for the younger man to arrive in his office.

"Must you bellow?" Otto asked, and Josh suddenly realized that Otto had guts.

"Well, I'd say I must, otherwise you wouldn't hear me."

"Josh, there is an intercom on your desk. Surely you had one in the White House," Otto said.

"Listen, kiddo, don't push your luck. I admire gutsy people but there is a line between gutsy and impertinent," Josh warned his assistant.

"I'm coming up on it?" Otto asked with trepidation.

"No, no, look right behind you," Josh said. "Anyway, did you set up the meeting with Lou?"

"Tomorrow, brunch, 10 o'clock, the Four Seasons on Lamar Street," Otto said.

"The Four Seasons?" Josh asked back.

"She said she wouldn't take brunch at any other place," Otto said. "I will probably cross the line again, but you should be grateful."

"How so?" Josh asked back, getting used to Otto.

"Well, she could've said dinner. And dinner in the Four Seasons Hotel? It would cost a fortune," he concluded.

"You are a downright Pollyanna there," Josh joked but then sobered. "Listen, I need you to help me booking a ticket to Wisconsin."

"Sure, give me the parameters and…" Otto said, but Josh interrupted him.

"No, you need to _help_ me to book the tickets. _I_ have to do it," Josh said.

"Is this some kind of girlfriend thing?" Otto asked after stepping into Josh' office.

"Kinda," Josh admitted and then a wistful look appeared on his face. He had a girlfriend. The next President of the United States is his girlfriend. It was a frightening thought.

"Okay, sit down please," Otto told him. "We will do it online, you can register with an online booking agency and from now on you'll be able to do it alone whenever you want."

"Okay," Josh agreed.

"Now, there is no direct flight from Houston to Madison, so you have to decide to change planes in Milwaukee or ride the bus," Otto said.

"I'll be flying in from Florida. Miami," Josh corrected him.

"Okay, then you definitely have to change planes," Otto said. "Let's see. I usually use this website. We will register first." Otto typed in something. "Okay, just fill out the form." He said and waited for Josh to finish. "Good, now let's take a look. See, there is your departure and arrival airport. Type in MIA and MSN," Otto instructed him. "You have to be there for lunch or dinner?"

"Preferably lunch, but if that's not available then well before dinner," Josh said.

"Okay, it's processing your request. You see, here," Otto pointed at the monitor, "you can change how the results will be sorted. You have duration, departure time or arrival time. You don't have to worry about the price, that's the last step but they are usually about the same," Otto explained. "Now, we pick arrival time. Judging by this, you have to leave around six or seven to be there for lunch. Let's see. Okay, I guess you don't want to sit seven hours on a plane when there is a chance to do it in five hours?"

"Definitely not," Josh said.

"There it is, 5 hours 15 minutes or 5 hours 43 minutes. There is a 10 dollar gap, but that's nothing."

"Yeah, when you are paying with my Visa," Josh murmured.

"We can book you for the longer flight, Josh," Otto said, looking at his boss with an arched eyebrow.

"You are crossing the line again," Josh said, rubbing his temples. He already had a headache and he was nowhere near of having a ticket booked.

"Okay, American Airlines, and you change planes in Chicago. You'll arrive around eleven in Madison," Otto said. "Now, we proceed to check-out, you have to actually purchase your ticket. Okay, type in your phone number. They will call you if your flight is cancelled or delayed. You want to sit aisle or window?"

"Aisle," Josh told him.

"Okay, check the box then. Last steps. We enter your credit card info and then we are done. You want to print these pages, they will act as your ticket," Otto said.

"Okay," Josh said. "Are we done?"

"I will save this page onto your laptop, okay?"

"You think I'll lose these papers?" Josh asked him, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, not losing, just misplacing them, maybe," Otto admitted while he saved the itinerary onto Josh laptop, and Josh remembered that he used the speakerphone with Charlie the day before while Otto was syncing his Blackberry. "Okay, we are done."

"Thanks, Otto," Josh said, and then dismissed the assistant. He composed a silly message to Donna and then picked up the phone to tell her mother about his plans. Her mother didn't pick up but soon he saw CJ's name appear on his phone's display.

"CJ, what's up?" he asked cheerfully.

"I have the picture sitting on my desk," CJ said, her voice strained.

"Is it bad?" Josh asked, his cheerfulness quickly vanishing.

"I don't know what to say," CJ admitted.

"Well, let's start with describing the picture," Josh said. "Is Donna in the picture?"

"Yeah, she is there. She looks… She glows," CJ said. "So that's a good thing."

"Is there someone else on the picture?" Josh asked, his patience being worn thin.

"Yes, it's you, and you are practically hugging her, while watching Matt and Helen goofing around in the snow. It's a picture from Thanksgiving," CJ said. "Basically, there is nothing harmful or shameful about this picture. But you know media people; they can spin it pretty much either way."

"I know. Okay, fax the picture over for me, and then scan it and email it to Toby, he'll take care of it when the paper decides to publish it," Josh said.

"It will be up online in an hour or so," CJ said.

"Who has it?" Josh asked, although he already had a hunch. "_The Post_, right?"

"Right," CJ confirmed his suspicions.

"Yeah, let Toby handle them," Josh told her and then hung up.

He desperately wanted to call Donna but he knew he shouldn't. Not until she talked to Toby, and definitely not until CJ faxed the picture over. He just didn't know what to make of it. How could that happen? Was there a paparazzo? But the police had secured the perimeter of the mansion, it was next to impossible. Five minutes later, his fax machine spewed out the picture and he nodded.

Yeah, he remembered the scene, it was beginning to get dark outside and the kids begged them to have a snowball fight; it had been snowing since that morning. Josh convinced Donna, and Matt convinced Helen so they were outside, playing along. When a stray snowball hit Helen, she cried revenge and attacked her husband. They were rolling around; Matt trying to escape a handful of snow Helen planned to shove into his face. The picture on its own was innocent, but Josh was too long in the business of politics to believe that no one would say vile words, that no one would insinuate things that weren't there.

An hour later, he was proved right. The picture and the article appeared on the website of _The_ _Washington Post_, and Josh let out a cuss word when he saw it.

"Is something wrong?" Otto poked his head in.

"Phone Ronna, I have to talk to they Mayor ASAP," Josh said, took his coat and left the building where he temporarily rented offices. Otto called him to tell him that Matthew Santos was waiting for him, and Josh was again tempted to call Donna. But he knew that he should calm down before initiating that conversation. Meanwhile the headline–_Lyman Lines Up the Candidates – Who Is the Future Leader of this Country?_–was dancing in front of his eyes, mocking him, suffocating him.

And the title was the kindest part of the article. They insinuated that he was a power-hungry, Machiavellian type of politician who considered nothing low when it came to politics. And he only wanted to help Donna to get elected because he himself wanted to run this country. But the article had one thing wrong; they wrote that he was Donna's campaign manager. Well, they would learn soon enough the wrath of Toby Ziegler, he thought with great satisfaction. They also dug up everything about him from the Bartlet-years; fortunately, his PTSD wasn't common knowledge. He wanted to tell about that to Donna in person. So the article was about him, and guilt washed over him when he realized that at that moment he was more harm than gain for the _Moss for America_ campaign.

After he arrived at the City Hall, Matt took a coffee break, and Josh showed him the picture. They talked about it for fifteen minutes. Matt was very strict about campaign rules, and he didn't want anyone to say that he campaigned from his office. So Josh' visits were rare and kept short.

On his way back to his office, he called Donna.

"Joshua," Donna said, sounding weary but relieved.

"Donatella," he said with a sigh. He dreaded this conversation but once he heard her voice everything was okay. "I'm sorry about it; I should've kept my hands to myself."

"Nonsense, Josh," Donna admonished him. "I was cold and you wanted to keep me warm. And even if it wasn't that innocent they can't judge us, we didn't do anything wrong. We are adults, neither of us is married and we like each other."

"Well, that's right. Where is Toby?"

"Snarking the Post's Editor-in-Chief, he is telling them that you are not running my campaign."

"It will be over in a week, Donna. They will find something else to report on. Some celebrity might have a fall-out before Christmas, and then they'll move on," Josh predicted.

"Okay, I'll try to bear that in mind. You didn't change your mind about Christmas, did you?" Donna asked him.

"No, I didn't," Josh reassured her and then told her about booking the ticket with Otto.

"So, this Otto? Should I make an effort to remember his name?" Donna asked, jokingly referring to the fact that Otto was his fifth assistant since President Bartlet's funeral two months ago.

"Yeah, I think he is a keeper. Oh, and I'm hiring Lou Thornton for media director," he announced to Donna.

"Who is this Lou person and should I be jealous, Josh?" Donna asked, barely able to suppress a giggle. It seemed that the conversation with Josh lifted her spirits too.

"Absolutely not," Josh reassured her. "We'd probably kill each other before we would even think about… Well, you get my drift. Anyways, she is like Toby, grumpy and grouchy."

"Only with boobs," Donna added with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but it's not like I'm thinking of…" Josh wanted to make a remark but then cut himself off just in time. "Yeah, let's not go there right now," he told then Donna, making her laugh again. "Did you call CJ?"

"My next call. The phones are ringing incessantly. Remember how I told Tal that we are not campaigning from the office? She is using that line to deflect the calls," Donna said with pride in her voice.

"Good girl," Josh said with a nod. "Okay, call CJ and I'll call you tomorrow. I love you," Josh said and then cringed. His mouth ran before his brain could catch up. Again.

"I love you too," Donna returned the confession, and there was a long pause before Josh could speak again.

"Thank you," he whispered and then hung up. He was still in a daze when he picked up the phone again.

"Josh Lyman," he said automatically.

"Josh, it's me," Matt greeted him. "Come to the house, please," he said and then hung up.

Josh took a cab to get there as fast as he can; he heard the tension in Matt's voice. Helen answered the door, and Josh entered the living room where Matt and Miranda were sitting in complete silence.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking back at Helen who stood behind his back.

"We know how they got the picture," Helen said.

"It was Miranda's picture?" Josh put two and two together.

"Yes, when I saw it something clicked," Matt said. "I called Miranda and asked her to send me the snowball fight photos and I found it. It's the same picture, Josh."

Josh looked at the little girl, and his heart gave a lurch. He crossed the room in three strides and kneeled down in front of the girl.

"Miranda," he called out to her. "Honey, you did nothing wrong. Did you send the photo someone?"

"No, it was a project," Miranda explained. "Caitlin and I did a 'fun in the snow' project. We took photos of people building a snowman, of snowball fighting and such. Mrs. Romano thought that we had very good pictures and she posted it on the school's website."

"I see," Josh said. "Miranda, you did nothing wrong."

"But I read the article. They say nasty things about you," the girl said.

"Yeah, they do that occasionally," Josh said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Okay, let me make some calls. And Miranda?" Josh asked.

"Yes?" the girl looked up at him, still waiting for the scolding.

"I would like to have that picture for me. Could you send it to me via email?" Josh asked her with a wink.

"There are better ones of you and Donna together," Miranda told him with a toothy grin.

"Well, then send those too," Josh said with a nod.

"You sure you are not mad at me?" Miranda asked then in whisper.

"It wasn't your fault. And now, I'd like to talk to your mom and dad alone, okay?" Josh told her and the girl ran out of the room. "It wasn't her fault," Josh said, looking at Matt.

"You think I'm angry because she took the picture and it was posted on the school's website?" Matt asked him in a strained voice.

"No, I know you are not. I just wanted to tell you that _I_ am not either. I'm calling Sam," Josh said, pointing at his Blackberry.

"Call him from the house phone," Helen said, "and put him on the speakerphone please."

Josh nodded and called Sam.

"Hi, Matt," Sam greeted him, obviously reading the called ID.

"It's me, Sam," Josh said.

"Is something wrong?" Sam asked him, sensing Josh' distress.

"You didn't happen to read the online _Post_ today?"

"No, not yet," Sam said and Josh heard him typing away on his laptop. "But I'm doing it now. Wow!"

"Yeah, that's why I'm calling you. Listen, I need a lawyer's advice. Miranda took that picture, and it was later posted on her school's website as part of a project. What can we do?"

"Name of the school?" Sam asked, switching into lawyer mode immediately.

Helen told him and they heard as Sam typed away.

"What are you doing, Sam?" Josh asked him impatiently.

"I'm checking out something," Sam told him and for a while they only heard the clicks Sam's mouse made. "Okay, I got it. Yeah, it states clearly that the pictures are copyrighted material and that they are not to be published without the consent of the artist. You can sue them for theft. But I'm not sure that would be the right thing to do; it would send the wrong message and draw unnecessary attention to Miranda. I have an idea!" he then said. "Make them pay for the picture, give Miranda the money. She should then donate it to some charity," Sam said.

"Thanks, Sam, we will think about it," Josh said and after saying his goodbyes Sam hung up. Josh turned to Matt and saw a wolfish grin appearing on his face. "What?"

"I like Sam's idea," Matt said.

"I will have to talk to Toby and Lou about it. Let the picture run its course and we will come back to it tomorrow," Josh said, taking his coat from Helen.

"Who is Lou, Josh?" Matt asked when he was about to leave.

"Your new media director, sir," Josh said. "If she accepts, that is. I'm meeting her tomorrow for brunch."

"Should I come?" Matt asked him.

"No, sir. I don't want to give them the opportunity to take your picture with a media guru one day after the photo," Josh said.

"Okay, I have to go back to the office too," Matt said, putting on his coat too. "I'll drop you off at yours, Josh."

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_Christmas in Wisconsin, Josh gets into the spirit of giving and receiving, and he finally meets Mrs. Moss and the other members of the Moss-clan. _


	9. Christmas with the Mosses

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Christmas with the Mosses **

* * *

Josh hated O'Hare. He was a mere hour away from Madison, and there he was waiting for connections. He was an impatient man on his best days and he had one hell of a week behind him. His gate was announced when his phone started to ring. He looked down; the caller ID read 'Lou'.

"Hi, Josh," the new media director of the Santos campaign sounded unusually chipper.

"What's up? Is something wrong?" he asked, playing back scenarios in his head. He didn't want to go back to Texas. He wanted to see Donna and the kids. He realized he sounded like a husband and father and also that he wasn't freaked out by the thought.

"Well, your assistant is an idiot. Other than that, you might be ambushed on the airport in Madison. You can count on cameras and photographers, I guess," Lou said.

Josh let out a groan; he was getting tired of being the target of the media's attention, although CJ and Lou explained it to him that the campaign didn't suffer from it. Most of the articles stayed political and at least it was free advertising, and made Donatella's and Matt's name known. Nevertheless, he wanted the media to focus on Donna's and Matt's issues, and not on him. He offered to resign but both Matt and Toby told him to get a grip and swallow the bitter pill.

"Are the two somehow connected?" he asked resigned.

"Definitely," Lou told him cheerfully, and Josh came to the conclusion that Lou was enjoying it too much to be sober. She must have already started the Christmas celebration in the company of her favorite Johnny Walker. "He was in a bar, boasting about his great job and how his boss was a genius but otherwise completely helpless. He told a chick that he had to help you to book your tickets for Madison. To tell the truth, I didn't want to interrupt, I was in company," Lou said. "But then the chick asked who his boss was and what kind of business he was in and the idiot boy told her everything. Only problem with that was that there was a reporter sitting next to them, so you might want to prepare for some bashing for not knowing how to book an airplane ticket."

"Thanks, Lou. Could you please call CJ and tell him everything?" Josh asked her.

"Already did. She said nothing to worry about; we can spin you to appear endearingly helpless," Lou said and Josh' suspicions were confirmed. Lou had to be on the way to getting drunk. "You didn't plan to go to church with the Mosses, did you?" she asked then totally out of the blue.

"Didn't plan on it, no," Josh said, not knowing where Lou was heading.

"Peachy," Lou said and then hung up. Josh stared at his phone for several seconds before he realized that Lou wasn't going to call him back. So he dialed her number and waited impatiently for her to pick up.

"Hey, Josh. Long time no hear," Lou wisecracked. "What can I do for you?"

"You didn't fire Otto, did you?" Josh asked her.

"No, I remembered your little pep talk about second chances. But I'll keep an eye on him until you're back. If that's okay with you, of course," Lou added then nonchalantly.

"If that's what suits you," Josh said, suppressing a chuckle. "Listen, my flight was called, I have to go. Merry Christmas and all."

"Right back at ya, pal," Lou said with a hiccup at the end.

Josh arrived on time which was a remarkable feat on itself considering the fact that it was the 24th. As soon as he picked up his luggage, he was surrounded by cameras and photographers and journalists, each of them asking him about his Christmas plans. He questioned their intelligence for asking such an obvious question, his plans were clear enough. After all, he was in Madison, Wisconsin. Nevertheless, he smiled, gathered his luggage and left the airport in a taxi cab. He called ahead from the car. He arrived at the mansion, and was greeted by Mrs. Rogers at the door.

"Ms. Moss wanted to open the door but Ms. Cregg told me not to let her," Mrs. Rogers said apologetically.

"It's okay, Mrs. Rogers."

"I put the two boxes together with the rest of the gifts. They will be brought to the tree tomorrow morning," Mrs. Rogers whispered to him conspiratorially.

"Thank you," Josh said, flashing a smile at the old housekeeper. He didn't have too much time to look around, but he saw that the residence looked very festive. He spotted a big fir tree in the living room before his attention was required elsewhere.

"Josh!" Donna barreled down the steps, into his open arms. He picked her up and held her in a tight embrace.

"I missed you so much," he said and proved it with a passionate kiss.

"That much?" Donna asked him, tucking away a strand hair shyly.

"Yeah, you cannot imagine," Josh whispered back.

"I think I might," Donna said and then leaned over to kiss him again.

"Where are the kids?" Josh asked, looking around.

"They are upstairs, I forbade Joanna to come downstairs, I wanted to greet you undisturbed," Donna confessed.

"Very clever," Josh said, and gave her another kiss, this time a short one, on the lips. "I like kissing you," he admitted then.

"Yeah, I had the impression," Donna said, grinning at him with a glint in her eyes.

"Admit it, you like it too," Josh urged him.

"Well, I think I need more evidence before I can testify on that," Donna said teasingly.

"MOM!" Joanna's cry made them jump.

"Yes, Bug?" Donna shouted back with an indulgent smile.

"Is Josh here?" Joanna asked back.

"Yes!" Josh hollered back and then dashed upstairs, taking two steps at once. "I'm here!" he announced when he finally stood face to face with the little girl.

"Josh!" Joanna threw herself into his arms, and when he stood up he twirled her around.

"Did you miss me?" he asked the girl who was squealing in delight.

"Occasionally," Joanna said, letting out a final giggle.

"Only occasionally?" Josh asked back, his face in mock hurt. He held Joanna in his arms, and now he was leaning back to get a better look at her face.

"Well, every day occasionally. I mean I had other things on mind, you know, eating, sleeping, kindergarten, that kind of stuff," Joanna said coolly but then couldn't hold it any longer and burst out in laughter. "Of course, I missed you, doofus," she whispered then and planted a big kiss on Josh' face. Josh then put her down and turned to Leo.

"Hi, Leo," he greeted him cheerfully. They bonded a little over Thanksgiving, but Josh was still unsure about Leo. The boy wasn't an open book like his sister. One thing he knew, boys at his age didn't like public displays of affection, even if it was only in front of their families. So he stretched out his hand for Leo to shake it. The boy looked up at him, and Josh sent him a genuine smile. Leo took his hand and then shook it with vigor. Josh flashed a grin at Donna.

After unpacking and taking a much needed shower, he showed up in the dining room which was now set for four. They ate lunch and discussed Josh' flight, snow in Wisconsin and the weather in Florida.

"Okay, let's get down to business, people," Donna told them after lunch. "We have a tree to decorate," she said cheerfully.

"Finally!" Joanna exclaimed and she and Leo ran into the living room.

"Last year she was too young to help us, so we decorated with Leo while she was with Mom," Donna exclaimed.

"Do you have a video camera?" Josh asked her, and Donna nodded.

"Well, give it to me and get down to work," Josh said, ushering Donna into the living room.

"You don't want to help us?" Donna asked him with a frown.

"It's your tree. I'll help lifting up the kids to place the star atop," he offered.

"You sure?" Donna asked him.

"Hundred per cent, sure," Josh said with a nod. "Hey, Joanna, you know any Christmas songs?"

"You don't want to hear Mommy singing, Josh," Joanna said brutally honest.

"We have a CD-player, just push play," Donna told him with a shy smile.

Soon the room was filled with traditional Christmas songs and Josh was happy to record the tree decorating event. He knew that once Donna was elected President they wouldn't have the opportunity to do this anymore.

"So when do I meet your family?" he asked Donna when they decided to take a break and sample some cookies.

"Well, they'll be here tomorrow morning. Mother is spending the evening with her best friend whose husband died a few weeks ago. Mike is still in Eau Claire, he will bring the kids tomorrow. Frankie and TC are home, having dinner together."

"So it's only us for dinner?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, and it's not a formal thing, Josh," she told him in a whisper. "You can wear whatever you want."

"Really?" Josh asked back again. "What are you planning to wear?" he asked.

"Jeans and shirt," Donna said.

"Jeans is good," Josh said, imagining Donna in tight jeans.

"I would like to see you in jeans," Donna whispered back to him.

Josh gulped in response; he stared at Donna for a long time before Joanna elbowed him.

"Do you want to watch _Finding Nemo_ before dinner?" she asked him.

"Do I have a choice?" Josh asked back.

"No," Leo told him, shaking his head with an evil grin plastered across his face.

"_Finding Nemo_ is a Christmas special," Donna explained. "Ever since Leo was three."

"I see," Josh said solemnly. "It's a tradition. Well, I respect traditions, so let's watch _Finding Nemo_ before dinner."

They continued to decorate the tree and then there was only the last piece left. The little star that adorned the top of the tree. Leo relinquished his rights of putting the star atop, so Josh lifted up Joanna while Donna was filming them.

"It's beautiful," Joanna said, gazing at the tree in rapture.

"Yes, it is," Josh agreed and kissed her. Leo was standing next to them, so he put his free hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. The little boy looked up at him, and something passed between them, a silent understanding which made both of them smile. Donna left the camera on and joined them, standing on Leo's other side, hugging the boy to her body.

"Nemo!" It was Joanna who finally broke the serenity, making everyone laugh out at her outburst.

"Let's find the DVD, and then you can watch it with Leo and Josh. I'll start dinner," Donna told Joanna.

"You have to watch it too, Mommy," Joanna demanded.

"I'll join you soon, I just have to put the poultry into the oven," Donna told her daughter.

"Okay, but you'll be back before the fish with the light bulb?" Joanna asked unsurely.

"I'll be back before that," Donna reassured her.

"There is an anglerfish in this movie?" Josh asked Donna then.

"You've never seen this movie before?" Donna asked him incredulously, and Josh shook his head. "Then you'll definitely enjoy it," she said and left them in the living room.

Leo put the disc into the DVD-player and while the warnings and ads rolled they made themselves comfortable on the couch. Josh really did enjoy the movie and Donna joined them half an hour later. Leo nestled himself to her side, while Joanna sat between Josh and her mother. Donna draped her right arm on the backrest of the couch. Josh was so submerged in the movie that he realized her hands were playing with his hair only minutes later. He stole a glance at her and saw a smile tugging at her mouth. He leaned back a bit, enjoying Donna's caress while he watched the movie.

They changed into something comfortable and had dinner together. Then came the part of the day Donna dreaded. She asked Josh to help her to put the kids in bed. Just as she predicted Joanna protested, cried and shouted, but Josh brought her into bed without yielding. Not that he wasn't tempted, but he knew that successful parenting included building a united front. Leo voiced his wish to stay up longer with less temper, and when his mother sent him to bed he obeyed without further ado.

"I didn't know she knows those words," Donna told Josh, standing in the door of his room, watching him getting his pajamas out of his bag.

"Well, she clearly didn't want to go to bed," Josh said, hovering over his bed. He was tired but he longed to be with Donna.

"You want to have some wine?" Donna then asked, smiling invitational.

"I would really like that but I have a slight headache and I don't think wine would be the best remedy for that," Josh said.

"You could come to my room and I could massage your temples. That helps," Donna offered.

"Deal," Josh said and followed Donna to her room.

"Well, this is it, my room," Donna said cheerfully, clearly trying to hide her nervousness.

"It's a nice room," Josh said, and then Donna sat down on the bed. She patted the place next to her and Josh lay down, putting his head onto Donna's thigh. "This is nice," he said in a muffled voice.

"Well, wait 'til I give you the massage of the year," Donna said, placing her fingers on his temple.

"Okay, while you are doing this heavenly thing," Josh started, "I would like to share some things that you should know about me."

"I'm listening," Donna said gently.

And Josh told her about his sister, about his father, about the shooting and about his PTSD. Donna heard him out, and when he was done she leaned down and placed a kiss on his head.

"Thank you for telling me," she said with tears in her eyes.

"I wanted you to know before we become really serious," Josh admitted and that earned him another kiss from Donna.

"We are becoming serious?" Donna asked him teasingly.

"I'm so tired, otherwise I would show you how serious," Josh told her, not even having the energy to lift his head to look up at her.

Donna put her hands into his hair and began caressing his scalp and the nape of his neck. The circular movement lulled Josh into a quasi-sleep but he was still on the verge of dream and reality when Joanna entered the room.

"Shh!" Donna called out to Joanna who wanted to greet Josh. "He is asleep."

Josh wanted to tell her that he is not but didn't find the energy to speak up.

"Is he tired?" Joanna asked then, looking at him appraisingly.

"Yes, he is. He had a bad day. I'll sleep in your room, we can get out our sleeping bags, what do you say?" Donna asked her daughter in a whisper.

"We can't leave him here alone," Leo warned her then.

"I didn't see you there," Donna told him surprised.

"I just arrived," Leo told her with a wave of his hands as if he was saying 'it's not a big deal'.

"He should rest, and we would wake him," Donna told his son.

"He might need us," Josh heard Leo and knew what was coming.

"Why?"

"He has nightmares when he is tired," Leo informed his mother.

"Really?" Donna asked the boy.

"Do you remember how tired we were the day after Thanksgiving?" Leo asked his mother then.

"Yes?" Donna said hesitantly.

"We woke up in the middle of the night. Josh was screaming something so we went to his room to see whether everything was okay," Leo recounted the night.

"And?"

"He wasn't okay, he had a nightmare," Leo told his mother with a shrug. "We woke him up and we talked to him then. That's why we were so tired the next day. We were up pretty late," he said.

"I see. Okay, then let's bring our sleeping bags here. That way we can hear him if he needs us," Donna said. Josh could practically feel her eyes on him after the kids left the room. "I'm going to help you with your demons, Josh," she whispered and then left the room too.

Josh was already asleep when they came back. He did have a nightmare that night like he always had when his emotions ran high and he was tired. The combination of the two brought out the worst of the nightmares. Donna shook him awake and Josh, after sending her back to sleep, got up for a glass of water. He even went to his room to change into his pajamas, snuck down to place his gifts under the tree and then returned. He was torn between sleeping alone in the big bed and sleeping with the rest of the family on the floor but he knew that his back wouldn't thank him for that experience. He liked sleeping on the floor but he needed his special mattress if he wanted to get a good night rest. So he rather climbed back into the bed and fell asleep again.

He awoke to a knocking at the door.

"Donna!" Josh heard an unfamiliar voice. It clearly belonged to an older woman so he assumed that Donna's mom arrived. He was still pretty out of it; otherwise he wouldn't have stayed lying there, sprawled across Donna's bed.

Mrs. Moss stepped into the room and shrieked. That could have awaken the dead so it was no surprise that both Leo and Joanna awoke too.

"Donna, there is a man in your bed," Mrs. Moss stated as she strode inside.

"Yes, Mother, but as you can clearly see, I'm sleeping on the floor with the kids."

"What does a man do in your bed on Christmas morning, Donna?" her mother demanded to know.

"Mom, could you please wait for us in the living room? We would like to get up and change. Then we will come down. Please, wait for us there," Donna told her mother in a low voice. She didn't seem to notice that Josh was awake too. And Josh didn't want them to know, he really didn't want to meet his future mother-in-low in his pajamas the first time.

"Donna…"

"Listen, Mother, Josh had a rough night and a bad week prior to that. I would like him to get some rest while he is here, so let's give him the rest, okay?" Donna asked impatiently.

"Good God, no need to bite my head off. I'm just saying that there is a man in your bed," Mrs. Moss said, clearly offended.

"Leo, Joanna, go back to your rooms please and get changed. Not going down before I say so," Donna warned them.

The kids left the room, and Josh saw that Donna stood up too. She was obviously gearing up for a fight. He hesitated what to do but then decided that it was Donna's fight to fight, he would only make matters worse. So he continued faking sleep, and actually fell asleep sometime during the discussion. He heard Donna asking her mother whether she transferred the gifts from the study to the living room and then he blacked out.

He woke up again ten minutes later when Donna started to caress his face.

"Josh," she whispered.

"Hi," he said groggily.

"Hi. Time to get up, Sleepyhead, the kids are getting impatient," Donna told him in a cheerful voice.

"Was it only a dream or did your mother really found me in your bed?" Josh asked her.

"She was here. Were you awake?" Donna asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Barely and fell right back asleep. Thanks for letting me sleep here tonight, I really needed some rest," Josh said.

"I know," Donna said with a nod. "Okay, get your cute butt out of my bed and get dressed. The kids are waiting," she said in a singsong voice.

"Wait, let's rewind this," Josh said as he got out of bed. "I have a cute butt?"

"The cutest one in politics," Donna said with a cheeky grin.

"You spoke to Joey Lucas," Josh said resigned.

"Well, yeah. She is polling for me."

"Okay, I'm getting dressed. Casual or formal?" he asked her.

"No jeans, but you don't need your suit either. Slacks and sweater," Donna told him.

"Okay," Josh nodded and went to his room to change. Donna and the kids were waiting for him at the stairs.

"Was the nightmare really bad?" Joanna asked him worried.

"It was, but being with you three in the room helped," Josh said, telling the truth. It helped to have people around, after having a nightmare.

Joanna and Leo raced down the stairs, and came to a screeching halt when they spotted their grandmother standing in the living room. Josh looked on curiously and sighed relieved when Donna's mother finally gathered them in a hug and sent them to sit at the tree.

"Mother, I'd like you to meet Joshua Lyman," Donna introduced him to her mother.

"Mrs. Moss, it's nice to meet you," Josh said politely after they shook hands.

"Well, finally," Mrs. Moss said not without any sarcasm in her voice. "I had the impression that Donatella was trying to hide you from me."

"Mother," Donna said in an exasperated voice.

"What?" her mother asked back indignantly. "I mean little Timothy met him, your assistant met him, Mrs. Rogers met him; it seemed to me that you didn't want the two of us to meet."

"Well, if that was the case your current behavior would explain why. But since it wasn't intentional could we move on?" Donna said then with a placatory smile.

"Mom, can we open the presents?" Leo asked.

"May, and sure, sweetheart," Donna gave her consent after correcting Leo. "But only the ones that have your names on it," she warned them. "We had a little accident last year," she explained to Josh. "They were so into it that they accidentally opened some of TC's gifts too. I had to rewrap them before they arrived."

Donna's mom left for the kitchen to prepare her apparently famous Christmas pancakes, and Donna pulled Josh into the living room. It smelled really good as Josh later told Donna. The fir and the candles lit on the table gave off a comforting scent.

Joanna came to them every time she opened a Christmas present. She seemed to be really grateful for even the littlest presents like crayons (from CJ as Donna whispered to him) or coloring pencils (from Toby).

"Mommy," she called out then when she opened one of the larger boxes. She looked into the box with awe written all over her little face, and Josh knew that she found his mother's gift. "It's beautiful, Mommy, don't you think?" Joanna asked Donna who went over to see what her little girl found so amazing. She helped lifting the little Tiffany-lamp out of the box; it formed a lily which was arched over a leaf, and atop of that a little fairy was lying asleep.

"Yes, it's beautiful," Donna said, sending a questioning look at Josh. He mouthed that it was his mother's and Donna nodded with a gentle smile.

"Mom," Leo cried out and showed up a baseball glove. Josh was glad to see that his eyes showed interest. Donna looked at Josh again, and Josh mouthed that it was from him. His mother sent the boy a gift too; it was a big album full of pictures from all around the world.

Donna, after replacing the lamp into the box and rescuing it from the unwrapping madness, went back to sit with Josh. She squeezed his hand and leaned over to kiss him.

"He told me that he would like to try out some sports besides chess," Josh said. "I just thought that both Toby and I are best at baseball so we can help him with that," he explained. "We also like basketball if he wants to try out that, but we are a bit slower than we used to be."

"Thank you," Donna said and gave him another kiss.

Leo soon found Donna's gift, it looked like a very antique chess set, and Josh saw Leo looking up at his mother when he unwrapped the box.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," Donna whispered to him, and Leo got up to hug her.

"Thank you, Mom. Do you play chess, Josh?" he asked then, turning to him.

"Unfortunately, not. You could teach me or we could try out your new baseball glove. Outside," he quickly added when he saw Donna's glare.

"Later, maybe," Donna told them as they looked at her pleadingly. "The others will arrive soon."

"They are here," Mrs. Moss came into the room as if on cue.

Josh wanted to see Joanna finding his present but Donna told both of them to get out of the room, they will continue after breakfast with the others. A cheerful crowd stomped into the mansion, and Donna made introductions. She noticed with a frown that Zane, Frankie's newest boyfriend–the one she 'acquired' after she spent Thanksgiving with some Tom–accompanied them. Josh noticed Donna's frown and decided to investigate it later but right now he was preoccupied with finding out whether he liked Donna's siblings.

"Josh, we finally meet," the younger man exclaimed, patting Josh' back with a force that almost sent Josh toppling over.

"Wow, easy there, fellow," Donna warned his brother. "Josh' is not one of your drinking buddies."

"Oh, he will be, especially now that he is apparently spending time in your bed, sis," Mike said, winking at Donna.

Josh decided then and there that Mike would not be his favorite Moss.

"How was the trip from Eau Claire?" he asked politely to keep up the conversation.

"Friggin' cold, air conditioner gave up so we have to put on our coats," Mike told him.

"Mike, watch that mouth," Mrs. Moss warned her son, and the big man looked chastised.

"Sorry, Mom," he whispered and then hugged his mother to placate her.

"You are crushing me," Mrs. Moss pulled away after mere seconds. "Who wants to have pancakes?"

The kids cried out in delight and they all piled into the dining room where the table was set for ten.

"Auntie Donna?" TC asked when they took place. "What did you get for Christmas?"

"I was waiting for you to show up. I didn't want to open my gifts without you all here," Donna said with a smile.

"Cool," TC stated and then turned his attention to his pancakes.

"Must you be so friggin' perfect?" Frankie hissed to her sister when she thought no one was watching. But Josh heard and saw, just like he saw Donna's hurt in her eyes.

"I didn't say it to earn brownie points, Fran," Donna said, and Josh saw that she was on the verge of tears.

"Hey, this pancake looks like a Christmas tree!" Joanna cried out, saving the awkward moment. Josh grabbed Donna's hand under the table and squeezed it. He leaned over and kissed her face, not wanting to draw Mrs. Moss' wrath upon himself.

"Aww, Josh kissed Auntie Donna," Lilia, Mike's six year old daughter swooned.

"Josh and Donna are sitting in a tree…" Mike teased them, winking at Donna, making her blush.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Frankie continued with a wicked smile. "First comes love…" she wanted to go on but her mother's glare stopped her.

"Sorry," Josh then whispered to Donna. "I didn't want to provoke them."

"Unfortunately, you don't need to provoke them, that's pretty normal behavior for both my brother and sister," Donna admitted. "They should grow up."

Josh nodded slightly, not wanting to express his views about Donna's family. He knew that she was loyal, and didn't know how she would react when someone else criticized them. Besides, he knew it was not his place to do so.

After breakfast the 'Great Unwrapping Adventure' continued, this time Joanna and Leo were joined by TC, Violetta and Lilia.

"Your brother has your grandmother's naming genes?" Josh asked in a whisper when everybody else was occupied with the presents.

"Believe it or not, my sister-in-law gave them those names," Donna said rolling her eyes. "But they are cute, aren't they?"

"They are twins, right?" Josh asked, remembering Joanna's info about her family.

"Fraternal twins, that's why they don't look alike," Donna explained.

"I see. And yes, they are cute together," Josh admitted.

"I thought you didn't celebrate Christmas," Donna asked then teasingly, referring to the gifts Josh brought.

"Well, I don't, but obviously you do, so I couldn't show up without gifts," Josh explained himself.

"I have to call your mother later. That little lamp is amazing," Donna swooned. "Oh, that's very nice, TC," she said then when the little boy came to him to show him a Dr. Seuss book.

"I will practice reading with this like Joanna does with _One Fish, Two Fish_," TC stated.

"That's good, sweetie, and I'm sure Leo will help you," Donna said, throwing a look at Leo who was deep in the book Josh' mother sent him.

"What kind of book is that?" Donna asked Josh.

"It has pictures and pictures from all around the world," Joanna answered her question. "Mommy?" she whispered to Donna then.

"Yes, Bug?" Donna asked back in a whisper.

"Does Josh know the phone number of Santa?" Joanna asked.

"I don't know, maybe he does. But why do you ask?" Donna inquired still in a low voice.

"I told him I wanted this," Joanna showed up a colorful book, full of fairies and other magical creatures.

"Maybe he wrote a letter to Santa," Donna said, smiling slightly. "Maybe you could thank him for the present by giving him a kiss."

"Thank you, Josh," Joanna said, climbing in his lap, giving him a kiss. Then she turned around and opened the book. "Read it for me, please," she said, pointing at the first page.

"Joanna," Donna warned her little girl. "Maybe Josh wants his Christmas present too."

"Oh, yes! Should I bring it to you, Josh?" Joanna asked full of beans.

"Yes, please," Josh agreed and then look at Donna with a questioning look.

"Well, I celebrate Christmas and I want to give something everyone I love," Donna told him, acting nonchalantly.

"Okay," Josh said hesitantly and then reached for his gift when Joanna reappeared.

And after unwrapping it, he gave Donna a grin.

"What's wrong?" she asked immediately.

"Nothing," Josh said, pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her lips. "I'll treasure it."

"It's small enough so that you can carry it around on the campaign trail," Donna said.

"Thanks," Josh said, the grin not fading. He placed the present back into the box and put it onto the table behind the couch. "Hey, Joanna, your mom still hasn't opened a present. What do you say to that?"

"Mommy, come with me!" Joanna urged her mother and pulled her into the chaos that was the wrapping papers and different toys and books. Josh sauntered over to Leo and sat down next to him.

"Thanks for the glove, Josh," Leo told him, looking up from the book for a moment.

"You are welcome. Toby can practice with you and when I'm here I can do it too," Josh offered.

"Thanks," Leo said, leaning a bit over, resting his body's weight against Josh' torso. "Do you know who gave me this book?" he asked then.

"My mother," Josh told Leo, and the little boy nodded.

"The lamp for Joanna was from her too?" Leo inquired.

"Yes, I thought she liked it," Josh joked.

"Well, if she didn't she is a very good actress," Leo said with a grin and then turned a page. "Have you ever been to one of these places?"

"I have been to Australia and Europe but nothing exotic," Josh said. "Where would you like to go?"

"A jungle," Leo told him, making him smile.

"I see. Well, until you find your way there, you can look at these pictures," Josh said, nudging him a bit with his shoulders.

"Donatella, what did you get?" He heard then Frankie to ask her sister. He looked up and saw Donna's eyes full of tears. He got up and crossed the room. He pulled her up from the floor and took her into his arms.

"That's why I grinned," Josh said. "I thought you could carry it around on the campaign trail."

"Thank you," Donna whispered. It was the same photo she gave to Josh, only the frame was different. It was part of the picture that caused so much trouble for them, but it didn't show Matt and Helen fooling around in the snow, only the two of them, Josh hugging her, their eyes alight, their faces a bit red from the cold. They looked happy.

"Can I see it?" Frankie asked, but Donna hugged the frame to her chest.

"No," she said and then went to sit with Leo.

"What did you get, Mom?" the little boy asked, and Donna showed him the little picture. Leo nodded, and then climbed into her lap, asking her mother to turn the pages in his book. Donna did so, occasionally commenting the photos. Josh was watching them, feeling rather sappy about his thoughts. Joanna tucked at his sweater and he picked up the girl who was holding the book in her hands again.

"Would you read it to me?" she asked then, whispering into his ear.

"Yes, honey," Josh said and sat down, pulling Joanna into his lap. Soon Lilia and Violetta joined them on the couch, enraptured by the story about the little fairy that lost its wings. Josh felt content and thought that besides some rather awkward moments he really enjoyed spending Christmas with the Mosses.

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_The peaceful days are over, but the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire primary are only part of the two campaign managers' problems as they struggle to find the balance between issues. Having financial problems, they can only hope that the endorsements of prominent Democrats might help them in order to survive until Mini-Tuesday._


	10. Iowa, Part I

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Iowa, Part I **

* * *

"This money problem is getting serious, Josh," Josh heard CJ's voice over the speakerphone. "We have to buy more media time."

It was 5 January, Toby, CJ and Tal were sitting in Wisconsin, Josh and Otto were in Texas, and Charlie was still in the DC.

"I know, CJ, but as hard as it is to believe I don't have a magic wand to conjure up some money for you," Josh said, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Okay, let's take a deep breath," Charlie inserted, once again as the voice of reason. In the last two weeks, Charlie was their peace negotiator. Whenever Josh' or CJ's temper flared he tried to keep the peace between them.

"How could we get some money?" Josh pondered loudly but got no answers.

"We need more pens and tokens we can distribute. I got one from the Kendrick campaign when I went to their offices in Ohio," Otto piped up.

"What were you doing at their campaign office?" Josh asked, shooting a glare at his assistant.

"Well, opposition research," Otto said. "Lou told me to go when I was in Cleveland for my sister's wedding."

"I see. And?"

"They've got key chains, pens, buttons and more," Otto reported back. "The pens are the coolest. So we should definitely get some Moss/Santos pens."

"Okay," Josh agreed with a sigh. "Toby, you are unusually quiet."

"Well, I went to pay a visit to Senator Morgenstern," Toby informed them. "I thought it would be a nice gesture to actually ask him to endorse the Governor and not just assume that he would. I spotted two letter openers on his desk. One from the Wells campaign and one from Kennison."

"What did he say about giving his endorsement?" Josh asked with trepidation. He spoke to Donna and knew how important it was for her to get endorsement of the Wisconsinian Democrats, and Senator Morgenstern was the senior senator from Wisconsin.

"He assured me that he would endorse the best candidate," Toby said.

"The old fox!" Josh exclaimed but smiled nonetheless. Donna was clearly the best candidate, and he knew the Morgenstern knew that too.

"Okay, if we are already at endorsements," CJ started, "I was contacted from several Senators and House Representatives."

"Really? Who?" Josh asked surprised. He thought they would have to hunt down endorsers, and here they were, knocking on their door.

"Senator Harding, Senator Marino, Senator Topper and Senator Wyatt," CJ said with a chuckle. "Congressman Jensen, Congresswoman Kroft, Congressman Marino. Also former representatives Fields and Van Gelt."

"That's a pretty impressive list you have there, CJ," Charlie said because Josh was obviously not able to utter a single thought.

"Well, they remembered the Governor and the Mayor from their House Representative days and said they wanted to help. They said they wanted a fair race, that everybody should get a shot until the convention decides who will be representing the Democratic Party in the elections."

"That's great but we still have the money problem," Josh said.

"Couldn't we organize a fundraiser thing?" Tal asked them.

"Well, obviously we should but we already had several fundraisers in Wisconsin and Texas, and they didn't bring in the necessary money," Josh told her.

"Okay, but maybe because they were boring events," Tal said. "Only the big shots could have bought the tickets and they didn't have the interest."

"What do you have in mind?" Charlie asked Tal.

"Well, we could lower the plate price or we could also offer something to win."

"Something to win?" Josh asked her incredulously. "Tal, we don't have the money…"

"Something that costs no money or little money, Mr. Lyman," Tal said.

"Oh, so we are back to Mr. Lyman," Josh murmured. "Toby?"

"What could we offer?" Toby asked back.

"I don't know, maybe a night in the Residence," Tal said. "Complete with dinner and a visit to the Executive Offices."

"No, absolutely not," Josh said.

"But why, Josh?" CJ asked him.

"Because I don't want some lunatic there, roaming the house of my family!" Josh shouted, making Otto grin and CJ chuckle.

"Okay, just think about it," CJ said. "I have to go," she added then and said her goodbyes. Josh sent Otto out and after exchanging some pleasantries with Charlie, sent his deputy on his way too.

"Toby?" he asked then the former Communications Director.

"We have some things to worry about but let's not right now, Josh. We have to focus on the Iowa and Nevada caucuses," Toby said. "Listen, I have to go too."

"Tal? Could you patch me through to the Governor?" Josh asked Donna's assistant but got no reply from Tal.

"She is not here," he heard then Donna's voice.

"Hi!" Josh greeted her shyly.

"Hi," Donna answered back, and Josh knew that she was smiling.

"How long have you been there?"

"Since the beginning?" Donna asked unsurely.

"What?" Josh asked panicked. "Listen, I'm sorry…"

"Josh, did you or did you not call me and my kids your family?" Donna asked him in a neutral voice, not giving Josh any clues how angry or happy she was.

"Well, I might have," Josh said, trying to downplay it.

"Josh, I was here," Donna warned him, but her voice was still somewhat cool.

"Okay, okay. Yes, I told them that I consider you and your children as my family. Is that really a big issue?" Josh asked her, defiance showing up in his voice.

"No, it's really not a big issue," Donna said, and Josh sighed relieved. "Except," she continued then, making Josh tense again, "it's probably the biggest issue in our relationship."

"Well, you know where I stand," Josh said, keeping his statement deliberately short, sending back the ball into Donna's court.

"Yes, I know that," Donna said. "And Josh?"

"Yes?" Josh asked back.

"Welcome to my family," Donna said, and Josh heard that she was trying to suppress a sob.

"I love you," he whispered then, spotting Lou outside his office. "Can I call you back in the evening?" he asked then, sounding wistful.

"Of course. We'd be really glad if you called," Donna said, and Josh' face broke into a huge smile. Donna understood that his 'you' meant her and the kids.

"Okay. Good bye, and don't let Tal cook some hare-brained fundraiser plot," Josh said, making Donna giggle.

"Bye. I love you," she said then and hung up.

"Lou!" Josh hollered then, making the Media Director jump a little, but she entered his office without delay.

"You rang?" she asked him with a scowl.

"You found a spokesperson?" Josh asked her with an arched eyebrow.

"Charlie was in on the conference call, wasn't he?" Lou asked with a frown.

"Yes?" Josh said, not knowing where Lou was heading.

"Well, he found you a spokesperson," she said.

"Really? Who is he/she?" Josh asked rather impatiently.

"A woman named Annabeth Schott?" Lou said, looking down at her notepad.

"Annabeth?" Josh asked back in a whisper.

"Yes. Charlie said you'd know her," Lou said then, watching Josh.

"When is she starting?" he asked after several seconds of silence.

"She already did. In fact, she is preparing for her first press briefing," Lou said.

"You mean she is here?" Josh asked, showing around, indicating the campaign offices.

"Yes, Josh, I thought she could have an office being _our_ spokesperson and all," Lou said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Okay," Josh said, standing up.

"You want me to go with you?" Lou asked him.

"No, thanks," Josh declined. "Oh, and Lou? What did you do in Cleveland while Otto was doing opposition research?"

"Had a drink with his sister," Lou answered immediately, and then looked mortified.

"Well, well," Josh said with a chuckle but then left her to meet with Annabeth.

He had mixed feelings about the younger woman. She was approximately Donna's age, and also a blonde. But that's not why he experienced those strange feelings he had in his stomach. No, he was about to speak to Leo's fiancée. Josh had met her once or twice before they left the White House and once or twice after Leo told him that they were engaged. He knew that Annabeth had made Leo's last years happier, and that they had been in love, but he didn't know how to act around Annabeth when she wasn't with Leo. The moment they shared at Leo's funeral was awkward, and that was a serious understatement.

"Hi!" he stepped into Annabeth' office, and looked around.

"Hi, Josh," Annabeth greeted him cheerfully. "This is a nice office," she said then, seeing Josh looking around.

"Apparently. How are you?" Josh asked then.

"Good," Annabeth answered cryptically.

"That's good," Josh said, feeling the awkwardness return.

"You wanted to tell me something about the briefing?" Annabeth asked him.

"No, no," Josh said, shaking his head. "I just wanted to say welcome," he added then.

"Thanks," Annabeth said with a genuine smile on her face. "Listen, Josh, I'd like to talk to you some more but I really have to prepare for the briefing."

"Oh, okay," Josh said taken aback.

"You want to grab a drink after work?" Annabeth asked him. "You can even come back here afterwards; I'll watch your alcohol intake."

"That'd be nice. I mean the grabbing a drink part, not the you watching my alcohol intake," Josh hurried to explain, making Annabeth chuckle.

"Okay. Then I'll do my best today, boss and I'll see you later," Annabeth dismissed him, and Josh left her office.

Josh remembered that night in the bar while he was watching Annabeth doing her press briefing in the hotel lobby four days before the Iowa caucus. He drank two beers and Annabeth drank her champagne. They talked about Leo and Josh told her about Donna. Their awkwardness around each other was dissipating and Josh felt relieved. Annabeth was a real asset to the campaign, and while CJ was still looking for a spokesperson for Donna's campaign, Annabeth spoke for both candidates. She asked if CJ wanted to do the briefing but CJ declined. She said she would be doing it for Donna until she found someone else for the job. She was Media Director of the Moss Campaign and only the Acting Spokesperson.

"Is that true that Governor Moss and Mayor Santos won't be here tomorrow?" Josh heard a reporter ask Annabeth.

"Why would they miss this? It's really exciting!" Annabeth said with a charming smile. "They'll be both here for tomorrow," she added then seriously.

"I have a memo that says that 'traveling must be approved by both campaign managers and must be reduced to a minimum.' Why is that?" the reporter pressed on.

"Well, Henry," Annabeth began with another smile but this time everyone knew that it wasn't genuine, "I won't even ask how you got that memo; neither will I discuss whether the memo exists or not, but let me ask you something. Do you think that the campaign managers would restrict the traveling of the candidates?"

"There are only four or five Moss/Santos staffers here in Iowa," another reporter said.

"Let's be factual, Mark. Six. Tal Thompson, Veronica Hayes, Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman, Bram Howard and myself," Annabeth said with a 1000-Watt smile.

"Are you trying to tell me that the campaign doesn't have money problems?" Mark asked back.

"I'm not trying to tell you that," Annabeth said coolly. "Every campaign needs money, and we are touched by your concern, Mark. For a full financial disclosure, look for Ms. Hayes, she has all the information you need," she said.

"Senator Wells' campaign issued a statement that the Senator will ask for positive campaigning. Will the Governor and the Mayor join her movement?" Josh heard Danny Concannon ask.

"Well, I haven't heard the Senator's pledge, Danny," Annabeth said. "But both the Governor's and the Mayor's campaign has refrained from negative campaigning so far and we don't plan to change our stance on that. We are for an issue-driven campaign that will show the American people that we are concerned about their welfare and the problems they face every day."

"What about allegations that the Moss/Santos campaign put a push poll into the field?" Danny asked back.

"You have seen said push poll, Danny or you know someone who was push-polled?" Annabeth asked back.

"No, Annabeth, I said there were allegations," Danny corrected her.

"Well, as long as they are allegations and you won't identify the sources of said allegations I don't have anything else than my earlier statement, we don't participate in a negative campaign, and the use of push polls constitutes as negative campaigning in my dictionary," Annabeth said. "If there are no more…"

"I have something," a female reporter called from the back.

"Sorry, I don't think we've ever met," Annabeth said with a smile. "I'm Annabeth Schott."

"Patty Parker from the Wisconsin Mirror," the reporter identified herself.

"Nice to meet you, Patty," Annabeth said and then waited for the question.

"Where does the Governor stand on pre-marital sex?" Patty asked, blindsiding Annabeth completely. Josh, who was watching the new reporter, snapped his head back to Annabeth and saw a flicker in the woman's eyes.

"Well, Patty, that's a pretty complicated question," Annabeth said.

"I don't see any complexity, Annabeth," Patty retorted. "Where does the Governor stand on pre-marital sex?"

Annabeth sought out Josh in the crowd and he shook his head. They have to talk about that before answering any questions.

"I don't have anything on that, Patty. Let me get back to you after I spoke to the Governor."

"Okay," Patty agreed fast, making Josh shiver with trepidation. "When do you think you'd have an answer for me?"

"The Governor arrives tomorrow morning," Annabeth said. "If there are no more questions, I'll leave you for now. And thank you everyone," she added with another 1000-Watt smile.

Josh led Annabeth away from the reporters and they went back to his hotel room. Once inside, he told Otto to set up a conference call with Wisconsin and the DC where Charlie and CJ were strategizing ads. They needed a conference call before both candidates were ambushed prior leaving their home states. He was waiting for Donna to pick up when someone knocked at the door. Annabeth let Toby, Tal and Veronica in. Toby seemed livid.

"Okay, do we have everyone?" Josh asked five minutes later.

"We don't have the Governor," Otto told him.

"What's the problem?" Tal asked the young man.

"Nobody picks up," Otto said.

"Let me try her cell," Josh said and they waited impatiently for Donna to pick up.

"Josh?" a familiar voice greeted him.

"Joanna! Hi!" Josh greeted the girl with a smile. "Where is your mother, Jo?"

"She is with Leo, they had to go the doctor."

"The doctor?" Josh asked Joanna, the clogs in his mind swiftly turning. "What happened?"

"He fell. In school. I think his leg is broken."

"And where are you, Jo?" Josh asked the little girl.

"In the waiting room. They are x-raying his leg. That doesn't hurt, does it, Josh?" Joanna asked.

"No, sweetheart, that doesn't hurt. Could you do me a favor?" he asked then Joanna.

"Of course, Josh," Joanna said.

"When your mom and Leo are out, would you tell her to call Toby? Immediately?" Josh said.

"Will do," Joanna said.

"Thank you, sweetheart. How are you?" Josh asked then, not wanting to leave Joanna alone although he was sure that Mrs. Rogers was around. He signaled Otto that he needed paper and pen.

"I'm fine, thank you. And you?" Joanna asked back and Josh knew that she was smiling.

"I'm okay, I guess. A little nervous and a little stressed, but otherwise okay."

"You have to take deep breaths," Joanna said. "That helps."

"Really?" Josh asked her while he jotted down something for Otto. Otto saw his note and his eyes got wide with surprise but then he nodded.

"Yes, that's what Mommy always tells me when I get angry."

"I see," Josh said. "Is Mrs. Rogers there with you?"

"Yes, she just went out for a coffee, but I'm sitting at the nurse's desk," Joanna informed him proudly.

"Okay, sweetheart. I have to go now. See you later," Josh said his goodbye and then hung up. He looked at Otto who pointed at his phone. Josh nodded that he understood.

"Okay. Leo's leg is broken, they are at the doctor's right now. I'm going to Madison tonight. Is the Mayor on?" he asked then Annabeth.

"Yes, we were waiting for you, Josh. What's the problem?" Matt asked him.

"We got a question today," Josh explained. "Where does the Governor stand on pre-marital sex?" he quoted.

"That's a tricky one," Matt Santos said with a sigh.

"And we obviously can't say 'no comment' or that the sex lives of Americans are not our concerns because pre-marital sex is partly about teenagers having sex. And we are for broader sexual education in schools," Josh summed up the problem.

"That's right," Matt said. "Where does Donna stand on pre-marital sex?"

"We don't have the Governor, sir," Josh said.

"I know, you said Leo's leg is broken. But I thought Toby might be in the loop or you, Josh," Matt said. "We need to come up with an answer in the next hours. I can be holed up here for another two hours but then they can ambush me as often as they like."

"Well, we never spoke about pre-marital sex as a political issue," Josh said, feeling awkward.

"Well, we have to separate the teenager issue," Toby said. "We need to come up with a statement for that. For the other one, we say of-age people have the right to decide."

"Why don't teenagers have the right?" Tal asked.

"I'm all for sex, Tal, but teenager is every kid who is over 10. And you can't tell me that they should have sex to their heart's desire," Toby told her annoyed.

"Okay. Then we should put it otherwise. Don't say teenagers, say adolescent," Tal said.

"That's someone between the age of 12 and 18, Tal," Matt said. "And I strongly hope you don't want my son to have sex."

"No, sir, of course not," Tal said with a blush. "But we don't want to forbid teenagers to have sex, do we?"

"Well…" Matt said. "We could want that but it would be futile. All we can do is educate them about sex. In school and at home. So that when they are forced to face the decision they can decide for themselves."

"That sounds good, although the forced part is a bit strong," Josh said. "Run it by Lou, sir. And that still doesn't answer the pre-marital sex question."

"I think we are going to be ambushed. I mean the Governor," CJ piped up. "Who asked the question?"

"Patty Parker from the Wisconsin Mirror," Annabeth and Josh said in unison.

"She has something. Why would she ask something like that in Iowa?" CJ asked. "We are going to be ambushed; there will be an article in the Wisconsin Mirror."

"What do you think it will be about?" Josh asked.

"Leo," CJ and Toby said simultaneously. "They will come after her because Leo was born six months after her marriage," CJ added.

"That's not unusual in this age," Josh defended Donna.

"Reality check, Josh," Charlie said. "Presidents are held to a higher standard."

"What can we do?" Josh asked then while he reached out for a note Otto handed him.

"Nothing. We can do absolutely nothing," CJ said. "We can ride this one out. Go for the truth but don't give away anything that's not common knowledge."

"Okay, thanks everyone," Josh said and the conference call ended. He looked down at the post-it note. "I'm meeting Donna in Madison in about five hours."

"Josh, you can't leave now," Toby told him.

"Toby, if you want Donna here for tomorrow you'll have to part with me," Josh said with a sad smile. "You'll have a hard time to convince her to come. Maybe if I'm there and if she sees that I'm staying with Leo then she would come. But even then I wouldn't hold my breath."

"But Josh…"

"Toby. He is eight!" Josh exclaimed. "You have kids. You know how that is."

"Okay. You'll try to convince her to come?" Toby asked him.

"No. You'll try to convince her to come," Josh said. "I can't be political to her. That's not how it works."

"We always asked Abbey to help us," Toby said.

"Yes, that's right, but I'm not her husband yet, so you can't send me to handle her," Josh said. Besides, how much did Jed Bartlet like when we used Abbey? How much did Abbey like it? I bet Donna wouldn't be wild about the idea either and you want something from her."

"Okay," Toby sighed with exasperation. "She will call me?"

"Joanna promised me to tell her that she should call you. I'm off to the airport," Josh said. "Otto, you'll set up a conference call for nine pm."

Otto nodded and Josh hurried off after packing his backpack.

_TBC..._

**Next Up...**

_Donna doesn't want to leave, Toby is on the verge of a nervous collapse and Patty Parker's article is published. Annabeth and CJ join forces and Charlie flies out to Iowa. ___


	11. Iowa, Part II

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Iowa, Part II **

* * *

Josh was tuckered out when he finally arrived in Madison. He was also pretty irate because he spotted a photographer in front of the governor's offices. He knew he shouldn't feel this way; he knew that that was the price every famous person had to pay, but it didn't mean that he had to like it.

He was barely off the plane when Toby called him.

"Josh, I know you didn't want to hear this, but she is not budging. I need your help!"

"Toby, I'm not going to pester her about this. I'm sure it will come up, but I won't try to convince her to go. It has to be her anyways. This is a turning point, Toby. She has to decide what's important. She has to see that she made a commitment and she has to follow through. But SHE has to see it," Josh told Toby.

"Fine, be that way!" Toby said fuming and then hung up.

The next phone call came from Charlie, Josh asked him to fly out to Iowa while he stayed in Madison. Charlie told him that everything was going okay and that Congressman Santos was ready to leave next morning.

"Hi!" Donna greeted him when he finally made it to the mansion.

"Hi!" Josh said and closed the gap for a kiss, but Donna drew herself back, not allowing Josh to kiss her. Josh felt like someone punched him and he felt his stomach churn. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Donna shook her head and then looked up at Mrs. Rogers. "You want to greet the kids?"

"Sure," Josh said, still confused about Donna's rejection. They made their way upstairs where Josh went into Leo's room first.

"Hi, kiddo," he greeted Leo cheerfully.

"Hi, Josh," came Leo's tired voice. "I broke my leg."

"Yeah, your sister already told me. How are you?" he sat down on the edge of his bed and slightly tousled Leo's hair before bending down to kiss the boy's forehead.

"I'm tired and it hurts," Leo answered honestly.

"Okay, then I suggest you to go sleep," Josh said with a gentle smile.

"You'll stay?" Leo asked him.

"I'll stay," Josh promised him, kissed his forehead once more and then tucked the kid in before leaving the room.

"Josh!" came Joanna's subdued cry.

"Jo," he greeted her and picked her up for a hug.

"I missed you," Jo confessed and buried her face in his right shoulder.

"I missed you too. Are you okay?" he asked then, sensing her tears through the fabric of his shirt.

"Yup, I'm just happy that you are here," Jo said and then encircled his neck with new vigor.

They ate dinner in almost complete silence; even Joanna's usual eagerness to tell about her day vanished. After dinner, Donna asked Josh to help Joanna with her bath while she checked on Leo, bringing him some tea and a few cookies. After her bath, Josh brought Joanna to her room and put her to bed, telling her a short story about a princess named Liana. He told the story as he went, and Joanna loved it. She soon fell asleep and Josh withdrew from her room.

"Hi," he greeted then Donna with a shy smile. She was apparently waiting for him in front of Joanna's door.

"Is she asleep?" Donna asked him without returning his greeting. Josh' sense of foreboding returned when he noticed that.

"Yeah, she was exhausted," Josh added.

"I know," Donna said with a sigh. "She cried all the way home from the hospital. She thought that Leo's going to suffer very long."

"She loves him."

"I know. Mrs. Rogers put your handbag into the guest room, change and then come to my room, please," Donna said and then left Josh alone.

Josh did as told and appeared at Donna's door ten minutes later in jeans and a t-shirt.

"I'm not going to Iowa tomorrow, Josh," Donna told him without further ado after letting him in.

"You talked to Toby?" Josh asked her.

"Yes. And I told him I won't go. He yelled at me, Josh," Donna said and Josh saw that she was hurt.

"I can imagine. You know why?" he asked her then curiously.

"I guess he is disappointed. But he has to understand, Josh, I'm a mother first and only then I am a candidate," Donna explained.

"And he knows that. But Leo's going to be okay and I'm here. I'm staying here with him until you're back from Iowa," Josh said.

"But then comes Nevada and New Hampshire," Donna said.

"You don't have to go to Nevada, that's the Mayor's gig. But yes, New Hampshire is next and I guess Leo will still have the cast when we go there," Josh said. "But Donna, you made a promise, and I know that you'd rather stay with Leo but he is not ill, he broke his leg. You brought him to a doctor; you'll stay with him tonight. Two days and he is back to school where he will be a hero for having a cast."

"But I don't want to leave him alone tomorrow," Donna protested.

"Donna, he won't be alone, I'm going to be here," Josh promised. "You welcomed me to the family, Donna," he said then, sensing another counter-argument coming up.

"I know and I'm really grateful that you are here, Josh, but I'm not wild about the idea that Toby's using you to make me see the error of my ways," Donna explained.

"He can't use me because I have refused to be used. I'm not telling you as a campaign manager or as Toby's friend, I'm telling you as your friend. By accepting the candidacy you promised to fight until the end. You promised not to give up, not to be deterred from your goals. Besides, there's gonna be an article tomorrow and if you don't appear they will tear you up, limb by limb. You have to go on air and make your point."

"I don't have a stand on pre-marital sex," Donna said.

"Well, what about us? Would it be an option?" Josh asked with a smile tucking at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, I'm not saying no but…" Donna said.

"That's all I need right now, honey," Josh said, gathering Donna in a hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Donna said and then kissed him for the first time since he arrived in Madison.

"I missed your kisses too," Josh admitted, making Donna smile.

"As my friend?" Donna asked then back.

"Huh?" Josh asked back, not understanding what Donna was asking.

"You said you told me as my friend," Donna said.

"I don't know, boyfriend seems somehow ridiculous for my age," Josh said with a grin.

"Should I win what would they call you? First Companion?" Donna asked jokingly.

"Well, by that time I'm hoping for at least First Fiancé," Josh answered with a smile full with dimples.

"Fiancé?" Donna asked him after she regained her ability to speak.

"Well, I'm trying to tell you something here, Donatella. And I think I made myself pretty clear with the family and the fiancé remarks," Josh said.

"You want to marry me?" Donna asked him completely taken aback.

"Is that such a repulsive idea?" Josh asked back.

"Not at all," Donna said matter-of-factly but Josh could see the beginning of a smile. "But technically, you didn't ask," she added then, suppressing a chuckle.

"Well, Donatella, we should definitely remedy that," Josh said, pulling her into his embrace again. "Would you do me the honor and marry me, Donatella Moss?" he asked then, looking deep into Donna's eyes, trying to find the answer there.

"Yes, Josh," Donna said simply.

"That's settled then. I don't have a ring, I'm sorry," Josh told her. "I have one in Iowa but…"

"You have a ring in Iowa?" Donna asked back surprised.

"It's not a whim, Donna," Josh answered, feeling a bit hurt. "I was contemplating the idea for a while. I just wanted to wait for the perfect moment."

Donna threw herself into his arms and gave him a passionate kiss that Josh thought he would never forget.

"If we are going at this rate," he said a bit still panting, "we should definitely have that sex talk now, Donatella."

"Okay," Donna agreed. "I don't want it to be somewhere on the campaign trail. I'd prefer your place or mine."

"We are not expected in the D.C. for at least three months, and I refuse to wait until that, Donatella. I'm made of man and you're a beautiful woman," Josh said rather vehemently.

"You'll stay here until we have to go to New Hampshire?" Donna asked him with a smile.

"I'll try," Josh promised.

"Okay then. TC's birthday is in a week, the kids are spending the day at my sister's. They could stay there for the night, I guess." Donna said, leaning her head onto Josh' shoulder.

Josh kissed the top of her head and they stayed there for almost five minutes.

"Are you tired?" Donna asked then when she extricated herself from Josh' hug.

"No, not that much," Josh said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Can we talk about pre-marital sex?" Donna asked.

"We just…" Josh started confused.

"I mean in political terms," Donna said.

"I see," Josh said and then pondered about it.

"Josh, even if you were nothing else but my fiancé I'd like to hear your thoughts. I know we agreed after Christmas that we won't talk about politics when we are alone but since it plays a pretty big role in both of our lives I think it is unavoidable. Normal couples talk about their work too," Donna tried to argue.

"We are not a normal couple?" Josh asked back and then shook his head. "Yeah, you are right, we are far from being a normal couple. Okay, I guess. What do you want to say?"

"I love you," Donna said.

"That's always good to hear but I hope that's not what you are planning to say when you are asked the question," Josh answered with a grin.

"No, I just had to tell you because you asked what I wanted to say," Donna said. "I'm glad that you didn't want to tell me what to say."

"Donatella," Josh whispered, taking her into his arms again. "I can't promise that we won't ever tell you what to say, but you are a candidate and your opinion matters. If you don't agree with what I or Toby want you to say tell us, but there will be times when we have to tell you that you have to do it anyway."

"And I can't promise that I will like it, Joshua, but I'll try to heed your advice whenever I feel that it's a good advice."

"Deal. Now, what do you want to say?" Josh asked again.

"Well, I want to make the distinction between teenagers and adults," Donna began but then was interrupted by the phone in the study.

"Oh, I forgot," Josh said. "I set up a conference call for 9."

"I want to have this discussion with you before we confer about it," Donna said, her voice betraying her frustration.

"Okay. Let me tell Otto that he should re-schedule it for later," he said and after giving Otto the new parameters he turned back to Donna.

"You gave us ten minutes?" Donna asked angrily.

"Donatella," Josh said gently, trying to head off another disagreement. "The Mayor is waiting by the phone, Toby is waiting by the phone, Charlie is waiting by the phone…"

"I know, I know!" Donna said, raising her hand. "You know what, let's not talk about it. I will listen to what the others have to say and then I'll make my decision."

"Honey, I want to hear what you want to say. No change in that," Josh said, trying to stay calm.

"This is ridiculous. We wasted two minutes already," Donna said. "Let's postpone our talk after the conference."

"No, Donna," Josh told her. "We'll talk about it now."

"But I don't want to anymore," Donna said with a huff.

"Okay, I know you are tired, but right now, you are also unreasonable," Josh said.

"And right now, I'm not sure that we…" Donna wanted to say but then pressed her hand to her mouth and shook her head in disbelief at what she was about to say. Josh didn't ask, he pretty much had the idea and didn't want to hear her confirmation. "I'm tired," she added in a whimper.

"I know, honey," Josh pulled her into a hug. "This day was long enough. But I need you for another hour. Okay?" he asked her then.

"Okay. I want to say that adults can do whatever they want to do, that's between them and their conscience and religion, we don't have the right to regulate that," Donna said.

"That sounds okay, although I want to hear what Lou and CJ say."

"Sex-ed?" Donna asked then unsurely. "I have to talk about sex-ed so early in the race?"

"That's what we face tomorrow, yes."

"Well, I think it's important that students are confronted with the consequences of unsafe sex, unwanted pregnancies and STDs," Donna said.

"Maybe unwanted is a bit strong there," Josh said.

"Unexpected, not planned?" Donna asked back.

"The latter sounds good enough," Josh nodded.

"Okay. But you know that I had two not planned pregnancies, right?" Donna asked him. "And Leo's birth pretty much screams that."

"Yeah, we know that," Josh said with a sigh. "Listen, Donna, you'll be attacked about Leo's birth and pre-marital sex. Let's focus on the sex-ed in schools and why it is so important."

"Okay. We have studies both national and in Wisconsin that teaching abstinence is not enough. The 14-18 age group is more prone to accidental pregnancies than any other age group simply because they are ashamed to buy condoms in a drug store or because they fear that a friend of their parents catches them while purchasing. The girls are not asking for contraceptives from their doctor simply because they fear gynecologists or because they are ashamed to ask."

"We will fax that study to Tal and she can make a press kit," Josh said.

"Okay," Donna said with a nod. "So sexual education is very important in schools but it's also important that parents talk about sex with their children. Making it taboo doesn't help; it will only increase their interest. Also schools would only provide the information about the physical side, about how to practice safe sex but parents should have the responsibility to talk about anything else, about the psychological side," Donna concluded.

"That's good. CJ will work with that, and Toby will help you to formulate an answer that sounds better but says the same," Josh said.

"It didn't sound good?" Donna asked back.

"A bit complicated. Not for me," Josh said, his ego shining through for a moment. "But for the average viewer."

"Josh, American people are not dumb," Donna warned him.

"Probably not, but when it's about politics they have the attention span of a person suffering from short term memory loss," Josh answered. "The first sentence is the most important in a statement."

"I know," Donna said with a nod. "That's why I said: '_Sexual education is very important in schools but it's also important that parents talk about it with their children._'"

"Sure. But the responsibility part came only afterwards…" Josh started to say but the phone rang again. "Are we done?" he asked, reaching out for the receiver.

"Do you agree with what I want to say?" Donna asked him, placing her hand on his outstretched arm.

"Yes," Josh said with a nod.

"You don't try to placate me or something?" Donna asked unsurely.

"I would tell you if I didn't agree, Donatella," Josh said solemnly.

"Fine, then let's talk to the others."

They talked and talked about strategies well into the night, and Josh actually had to break up the meeting because Donna was too exhausted to take it anymore. Next morning, he woke up before six and went into Donna's room to say goodbye. Donna gave him a sheet of paper with everything he had to that day and Josh sighed with relief. Sure, he loved the kids but he wasn't their father and he never knew the day-to-day stuff about kids. Donna took off ten after seven and Josh checked on Leo and Joanna before he went over to the executive office to ask someone for an exemplar of the _Wisconsin Mirror_.

The article was disconcerting, and not because of its contents. It was everything they counted on. Donna was criticized for practicing pre-marital sex. But there was also mention of other things there. Other things that only an insider knew. For example why Donna's late husband asked her to marry him or that he didn't want to have more kids and that Joanna had been an 'accident'. Josh shook his head at the vocabulary. Anyone who knew Joanna would have happily contradicted that sentiment. They also knew that Donna couldn't have more kids and since Josh didn't even know that, he had a pretty good guess with whom the reporter of the Mirror spoke. He knew that Donna was sitting on a commercial airplane where probably half the plane was reading the article and he felt for her. He tried to reach her phone but knew that Donna never left her phone on while flying.

Finally, two hours later he succeeded.

"Honey?" Josh asked when Donna didn't answer after he greeted her.

"I wanted to tell you yesterday, it was just… After we talked there was the conference call and… I'm so sorry, Josh. I didn't… I would understand if you'd want to withdraw your proposal."

"Donna, do me a favor, please. Go to my hotel room and open my black suitcase. When you are there, call me back, please," Josh told her and then hung up.

He was a bit hurt that Donna would imagine that he would retract his words but then he thought it over and he knew it was a big deal. He wanted to have kids, but Donna already got two, and it was not like he couldn't count to ten. Should Donna win the elections she would be 47 or 51 by the time she left the White House. Not the ideal age to have another kid.

After sending off Joanna to school, he brought Leo down to the living room where they were watching _Finding Nemo_ when Donna called him back.

"I'm in your room. Otto looked strange at me when I told him I need to get into your room. Is that _Finding Nemo_?"

"Yes, it is. Don't worry about Otto; he is used to stranger things from me," Josh reassured her.

"Okay, I have your black suitcase," Donna said.

"Open it, please," Josh told her.

"Your stuff is here," Donna told him.

"Yeah, I told Otto to pack when I left, he should have canceled my room too, by the way," Josh said.

"We are using it as an office," Donna said.

"Okay, it must be on the bottom, in a pair of red woolly socks," Josh said. "And don't laugh when you find them."

"Okay, I promise. Okay, I have the red socks. There is a box here," Donna said.

"Yeah, open it, please," Josh instructed her and then hold his breath. "Say something, I need to breath," he urged her.

"It's beautiful. So I take it you still want me to marry you," Donna said in a low voice, her emotion clearly choking her up a bit.

"Yes, I still want to marry you, Donatella Moss," Josh said. "Donna, I'm gonna be honest with you. I wanted kids but I also knew the moment we spoke that I found my soul-mate. That was a long time ago so I had time to mull things over. First, you have kids and I love them. Second, after eight years in the White House you'll be 51. Not exactly the age when woman get pregnant. But I knew that when I proposed. So the article-while leaving me surprised-didn't make me want to retract my words. I want to marry you because I love you."

"Thank you, Josh. Oh, I talked to CJ and Annabeth about us. They are up to something, Josh," Donna told him.

"CJ is always up to something. In Annabeth she found her fellow criminal mind," Josh answered with a laugh.

"CJ told me that my husband would be called First Gentleman," she added then with a chuckle.

"Oh, holy mother of…!" Josh explained. "I knew there would be hell to pay."

"What's wrong, Josh?"

"We made fun of the German Chancellor's husband. Me, Sam and Toby. CJ said we could find ourselves called First Gentlemen in the future and then there would be hell to pay."

"CJ predicted that you would be called First Gentleman one day? That's freakish!" Donna exclaimed.

"Well, tell her that. Actually, I think she made the remark in reference to Sam's infatuation with…"

"Josh?" Donna asked him unsurely when he stopped abruptly.

"Sorry, I have to call you back; I have to call someone right now. I love you," Josh said and then hung up. Bursting with excitement he dialed CJ's phone.

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_Donna has a fall-out with her family and then leaves for New Hampshire. There is also a discussion about changing one's name._


	12. Welcome Back to New Hampshire

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Welcome back in New Hampshire**

* * *

Josh made his way through the little crowd of onlookers in front of the post office. He just arrived and was determined to see Donna before she spoke to the reporters. But he was late, the press conference was already on its way. He spotted Toby first, CJ stood next to him. Bartlet's former Press Secretary was smiling, Toby seemed to sport a scowl but Josh knew him enough to see past it. The balding man was pleased and one minute away from a smile. That meant that Donna was doing well.

"Hi," he greeted them both and they turned to him, CJ returned the greeting with a wave and a smile, Toby grunted something that was barely audible. "How is it going?"

"I already told Toby that we should snag Annabeth," CJ said.

"No way, she is our Press Secretary," Josh said, the pride in his voice unmistakable. "She is fantastic, isn't she?"

"And they are such a good team," CJ gushed which was really unusual for her.

"You mean the Governor and Annabeth?" Josh asked back to confirm, while he was watching Annabeth wrapping the conference up.

"Yeah," CJ said, throwing him an unfathomable look. "Why are you calling her Governor all the time?"

"I'm calling her Governor when it's about the campaign," Josh explained with a shrug.

"But sometimes you forget and I'm eternally grateful for that," Donna said, suddenly appearing on Toby's right. "Toby, why don't you try and lure Annabeth away from the Dark Side?" she asked then her Campaign Manager with a smile.

"Toby and luring?" Josh asked and CJ let out a chuckle.

"Ten bucks tells me that he could do it by the end of the week," Donna said, turning back to Josh.

"It's a bet," Josh said.

"You know, I'm standing right here and I didn't agree to any luring," Toby said with fake indignation in his voice.

"Well, that certainly is a hindrance," Donna said, flashing another smile at Toby. "But you would try it, right? For me?" she asked the gruff Campaign Manager, looking like a damsel in distress.

"Just watch this, he is helpless," CJ whispered to Josh.

"And two weeks ago, he was shouting at her," Josh whispered back.

"He would do anything for her. And I mean anything," CJ whispered back with a wink.

"Well, he is not alone with that sentiment," Josh admitted with a self-deprecating smile.

"How are the kids?" CJ asked Josh, pulling him aside, watching Toby to succumb to the charms of the candidate.

"Abbey says they are okay," Josh informed her. "Do you think she overreacted a bit?"

"Do you think she did?" CJ asked back.

"Well, I don't know what I would have done, having never been forced to face the same situation. But her own sister, CJ? That's kind of hard. And Donna has no doubt about her mother's role in all of this," he said. "She told me there were things in that second article that only her mother knew. So she either talked to Frankie about it or talked to the reporter herself. Neither is good," Josh said, shaking his head.

"Well, Donna had a nutty about that second article in Iowa and she was this close to fly back home," CJ said. "She was really worried about the kids."

"I know that. But, first, I was there. Second, they were not after the kids. I just think that her mom and sister were green with envy. Especially, Frankie, but let's not talk about this, CJ," Josh said. "We have to focus on getting her around, the more people she meets the better."

"Oh, Josh, tell me about New Hampshire primaries, I think I might be not aware of the rules of retail politics," CJ quipped, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"All right, smart mouth, get your collective asses in gear and let's roll," Josh said, turning back to Toby and Donna. "Is the bet on, honey?" he asked nonchalantly.

"You bet your ass," Donna answered and then disappeared with Annabeth before Josh realized that he didn't get his morning dose of Donna-kisses.

While CJ, Annabeth and Toby accompanied Donna to her meetings, Josh and Charlie were meeting with DNC representatives. Josh wasn't particularly keen on that meeting, having a hunch what the party elders wanted to talk about.

"Charlie, we give them fifteen minutes then I page Otto and he is going to rescue us," Josh explained his strategy to his deputy.

"Works for me," Charlie said. "You think they want us to give up?"

"I think they are going to present a deal," Josh said, entering the restaurant.

"I hate brunches," Charlie said. "There is something snobbish about them."

"There is," Josh agreed with a nod. "But we are eating with snobs so I don't think you should voice your opinion."

Charlie leveled him with a glare which made Josh chuckle.

"Good morning," he greeted the three men and suddenly an image of the Unholy Trinity sprung to his mind. Haffley, Mitchell and Connelly were recurring characters in his nightmares while he was trying to push President Bartlet's agenda in a hostile environment, and the three old foxes sitting there didn't look any different. His only solace at the moment was that there was a Deputy Chief of Staff somewhere in the White House whose life–with these three in it–was worse than his.

"Josh," Senator Topper greeted him. "Charlie. Take a seat and let's get down to business."

Josh and Charlie exchanged a nervous glance, they thought there would be pleasantries first.

"Josh, you can't be serious with this campaign," Congressman Greg Roberts told him.

"What is wrong with the campaign?" Josh asked, deciding that playing dumb was the way to go for the time being.

"Your candidates," Chairman Stein told him.

"Sir, I don't understand…" Josh played the dumb-card again.

"Josh, you are lending gravity to a campaign that is doomed to fail," Senator Topper explained it to him and then looked at Charlie. "You all do. CJ, Toby, you and Charlie. Without you there wouldn't be a Moss/Santos campaign."

"And?" Josh asked back.

"And we'd like to ask you to take over another candidate," Chairman Stein told him. "You and the Bartlet-team."

"Abandon our candidates and take over someone else's campaign?" Josh asked for clarification.

"Yes," Chairman Stein told him with a nod.

"Whose campaign?" Charlie asked, receiving a glare from Josh.

"Kendrick or Kennison, your choice," Senator Topper told them.

"Okay, Kennison already approached me and when I told him Josh and I are a package deal, he backed off. I don't know whether he is a racist or just incredibly dumb but either quality is dangerous in the next President of the United States." Charlie said coolly, earning Josh' admiration.

"And Kendrick hates my breathing guts," Josh said seemingly impassionate too. "Besides, I wouldn't back a candidate whose first campaign move was to target another candidate for not being married. That's discriminative and proof of a very dumb campaign strategy," Josh added then, referring to Kendrick's remarks concerning Kennison who was not married. Attacking him with accusations of not being able to understand family values, Kendrick alienated single voters from the start.

"Which candidate could you back?" Senator Topper asked them with a sigh.

"Moss and Santos," Josh and Charlie said simultaneously.

"Josh, I understand loyalty, but there is no way they could win the nomination," Congressman Roberts told him.

"July is still six months away," Josh said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Why would you want this woman to be the next President of the United States?" Chairman Stein asked him, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Because she is the 'real thing'. She is what I would like to see in a President. She is apt, effective, intelligent and compassionate," Josh said. "She is all that. And so is Matt Santos. The two of them are already a team. Due respect, sirs, Kendrick is no team player and I allow that Kennison is a good candidate but he wouldn't be a good President. He is too focused on being the first African-American to be elected to that office. Have you ever heard Donna Moss to play the first female president card? No. Have you heard Laura Wells play that card? Yes. Donna Moss wants to be the President of the United States. Not just the President of women, or in Kennison's case the president of blacks," Josh explained, "but the President of all Americans."

"But Josh, she wouldn't be a candidate without you," Senator Topper tried to explain it to him.

"And that would be a shame," Josh retorted. "I mean have you seen her record?"

"She was never a prominent member of the party," Chairman Stein told Josh.

"Well, sir, because she never wanted to be before," Josh said with a brief grin, and then looked at the three politician sitting in front of him. "Let's make something clear. I don't ask you to sew up the nomination for Donna Moss and Matthew Santos. All I want is a chance until July. No bullying of the super delegates, no secret meetings with Kendrick or Kennison. Just a chance."

"What are you trying to prove? That you can elect another dark horse candidate?" Chairman Stein asked him.

"No, I'm not trying to prove anything. I just think that the next President of the United States should be a Democrat and that Democrat is Donatella Moss. With Leland not running there are various candidates from the GPO who could easily knock out Kendrick or Kennison," Josh said.

"But not Moss?" Chairman Stein asked with a sarcastic undertone.

"No. And you know why?" Charlie asked the three DNC representatives with a slight smile playing on his lips. Josh was suddenly reminded of a Buddha who had that mysterious smile as if he had solved the mystery of the universe. Which, Josh mused, was exactly what he believed he did. "Because the people of America will see that she is an honest candidate. That she is willing to fight for them, that their problems are her problems. And people would respond to that."

"At least you could reverse the ticket," Senator Topper suggested.

"Santos doesn't want to be President. He didn't want that 7 years ago, he doesn't want that now. He is great but if he doesn't want to be President I don't think he should run for that office."

"We could ask Sellner and Santos could be his running mate," Congressman Roberts suggested.

"Sellner doesn't want to be a candidate, he is not willing to reach for the stars," Charlie told them.

"You already asked him?" Chairman Stein inquired.

"We were contemplating him as a possible candidate," Josh admitted.

"So Donna Moss was your second choice?" Chairman Stein asked.

"She is young, maybe too young. But once we met her we knew that she was our candidate," Charlie told them.

"Josh, she is constant material in the rugs," Senator Topper said.

"They are interested in her because she is not your everyday candidate. Besides, it's not that she is having a sordid affair with a married man," Josh said with a grim expression on his face. "They attacked her, making her private life their target. But there is nothing to be ashamed of in her life. She doesn't have the picture-book family, but that's not something that people should be focused on. She is a good mother and no one can deny that. She is also an exceptionally successful governor and she was a great representative. What more do you want in a President?"

The three men glared at him with gusto but Josh only shrugged his shoulders. He didn't come here to 'sell' Donna; all he wanted was a chance.

"Okay, you've got yourself a chance. Until July that is. There will be no decision until the convention," Chairman Stein promised.

"That's all we ever wanted," Josh said and then stood up. "It was nice meeting you, gentlemen but we have a campaign to run. See you soon," he said with a grin and then left the restaurant, Charlie in his wake.

Once outside he took a deep breath.

"You know, I was worried," Charlie said with a chuckle.

"Yeah? About what?" Josh asked, turning back to his deputy.

"That you'd deck the Chairman of the DNC," Charlie said, a goofy grin plastered across his face.

"Well, I don't say I wasn't tempted," Josh said, returning the grin. "Charlie, did I ever say how grateful I am that you joined me on this little quest?"

"No, I don't think so. But it's certainly good to hear. I'm grateful too, you know. For letting me grow into this job."

"You just proved that you are the best man for this job. You stood up to the Democratic Unholy Trinity and came out victorious," Josh praised Charlie.

"_We_ came out victorious. You think they gonna keep their word?" Charlie asked back, sounding somewhat unsure.

"Yeah, I think they will. You know why?" Josh asked rhetorically. "Because Donatella Moss is the next President of the United States, unless of course the American people want to elect a fascist."

"You think they'll nominate Haffley?" Charlie asked, knowing who Josh meant by that remark.

"Yeah, I think they will. They could go for Patterson but I think they will just offer him the deal of being Vice President. He knows he is young enough to be the front-runner in eight years should they keep the White House," Josh said.

"You noticed how none of them mentioned Bob Russel?" Charlie asked then with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I think they'll ask him to drop out and endorse someone. Endorsements are CJ's table. She just has to make sure that Bingo Bob doesn't want to endorse the Governor," Josh said.

"Okay, I'll make sure that CJ gets that memo," Charlie said with a grin. "They didn't want us to do Wells' campaign either."

"She won't drop out," Josh said. "You know that Amy left Liz' campaign?"

"Yeah, Liz phoned Zoey about that. Zoey told her that she is better off without Amy. Oh, wait! Wells hired her?" Charlie asked some combination of horror and amusement written all over his face. "Well, it will be an interesting sight to watch that train rush to wreck."

"Yeah, there will be wreckage," Josh said. "I just hope that we won't be roped into the cleaning up."

"You think she could damage the party?"

"The party, the other candidates, the elections," Josh said with a shrug. "Amy and Laura Wells are a dangerous team. I'm thinking about sending out a spy. I really don't know what they are up to."

"Let's not worry about that right now," Charlie said and shivered visibly.

"Yeah, the thought makes you wanna scream and run, doesn't it?" Josh asked back sarcastically.

"I'm frightened, but let them have their primary. We just make sure that the Governor and the Mayor win New Hampshire," Charlie said.

Well, the New Hampshire primary was one big hurdle they had to take and they took it with grace. The storms caused by the two articles of the Wisconsin Mirror were over, Donna and Matt met every precinct captain and everyone else who was ready to hear them out. They spoke about their plans to reform education; they spoke about their vision about America. Josh and Toby succeeded to convince them that they didn't really need to speak about every issue they wanted to tackle. After all, New Hampshire was retail politics. And it was most important that they met as many Democrats as possible. And people started to respond, just as Charlie predicted. Presented with four serious candidates, they gave Donna a chance. With 25 percent of the votes she came in as second, Kennison was third. The two campaigns decided to stay for another day and night; this was after all their last campaign stop together.

While their campaign celebrated and made new strategies, Laura Wells gave a statement in which she accused Donna and Josh of having an illicit affair. However, Danny Concannon pointed out to her that there was nothing illicit about it, since they were two consenting adults, one of them a widow, the other an unmarried man. And then Laura Wells uttered the most ridiculous accusation everyone ever heard. When they heard about it, Josh was livid, Donna was irate and Toby was actually plotting Laura Wells' painful demise. CJ, with the help of Annabeth, tried to point out that everyone will see that she was a sore loser and that she only made that remark because she lost.

"CJ, it's something that will stay with us forever," Josh said in a low voice, looking sadly at Donna. They were in Donna's room, going over the scheduling. The next day, CJ and Charlie were going back to DC, the Santos campaign to New Mexico and then to Arizona, the Moss campaign to South Caroline and then Missouri.

CJ and Josh were standing in a corner, watching Donna and Toby talking about possible repercussions of Donna giving an interview to refute Wells' statement.

"It will if you let it. It's not true, you know that, Donna knows that and soon the American people will know it too. Josh, don't let her malice ruin this beautiful thing you have with Donna," CJ urged him.

"I just can't believe that she said that in front of all those reporters," Donna raised her voice. "I want to bury her, Toby! I want her to burn in hell for doing that to Josh," she went on, eliciting a frown from Josh. She was worried about _him_? "How could she utter such non-sense? She doesn't even know my Joshua!" Donna shouted.

"Seems like you have a lady in shining armor there, Joshua," CJ said with a chuckle, patting the shoulder of a fazed Josh.

"How dare she tell them that… that… preposterous lie?" Donna asked Toby, waiting for an answer from the older man.

"Donatella, please calm down," Josh hurried to her side. He enveloped her in a hug and nodded to Toby that he would take care of her. Toby and CJ left Donna's hotel room, saying their goodbyes.

"Josh, how can you be so calm about it?" Donna asked him, her voice somewhat muffled because she hid her head in his chest.

"Because you are angry enough for the both of us," Josh said with a chuckle. "Donatella, you know that I love you."

"Yes, Josh, I know that," Donna said, looking up into his eyes.

"Okay, and I'm pretty sure that you love me too," Josh said, a teasing glint appearing in his eyes.

"Well…" Donna said, intent on brining the banter they were so good at, but then made up her mind. "I love you too, Joshua."

"And that's all that matters," Josh said, cupping her face with his hands, drawing her closer to him.

"I know," Donna said with a sigh. Josh captured her lips with his and they were lost to the world outside for a long time. "But you were worried too," Donna said then, after the kiss ended.

"I was worried, and I'm still. Not because I doubt your love but because this is something that will stay with us for the rest of our lives," Josh said.

"Only if we let it," Donna said.

"That's what CJ said," Josh nodded. "Okay, you want to call the kids?"

"Yup, do you want to stay for the night?" Donna asked as nonchalantly as possible, although Josh noticed that she was just as nervous as he was.

"Yup, you are stuck with me for the rest of your life, Donatella Moss," Josh said, more solemn as intended.

"And you with me, Joshua Lyman," Donna said.

"Hey, that would make a good vow," Josh said, switching on the TV while Donna dialed the Bartlet-farm.

"What kind of vow, Josh?" Donna asked with an arched eyebrow while she was waiting for someone to pick up.

After sending her an apologetic smile, Josh plopped down on the bed and switched to CNN. World News was almost over and he wanted to watch how the pundits reacted to Wells' accusations. He knew that Donna probably didn't want to watch it, but he couldn't help it, he was after all a political animal. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Donna as she retreated into the bathroom. Josh, although reluctant to let her out of sight, gave her the privacy she apparently needed. She came out some ten minutes later, sitting down onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

"They said you talked to them this afternoon," she said.

"Yeah, right before the party," Josh said with a nod. "They are okay with Abbey?"

"Yeah, they like it there. And I think Abbey enjoys having them there," Donna said.

"They have to go home, Donna," Josh said in a whisper.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm still not comfortable enough with the concept of my mother and sister around them," Donna admitted.

"Yeah, I know. Listen, Donna, I know it hurt that your sister and mother discussed your most intimate thoughts and facts of your life but they would never hurt the kids," Josh said persuasively.

"Yeah, I know that, but I just can't trust them," Donna said.

"Okay, but they need to go back to school soon," Josh said.

"Could we table this conversation? I have enough on my plate with this Wells person," Donna said.

"Okay," Josh nodded. "There she is."

"Ms. Gardner looks nice," Donna said. "So put together."

"Yeah, she was always like that. Never saw her disheveled," Josh remarked with a bitter laugh.

"Not even in the morning?" Donna asked.

"No," Josh said, shaking his head.

"I look terrible in the morning," Donna remarked in a low voice.

"No, you are so damn sexy in the morning," Josh confessed, pulling Donna into his arms. "Here it comes."

"Ms. Moss' campaign managers don't shrink from doing everything to get their candidate elected. One of them even asked her to marry her in order to accentuate the family values her campaign is so famous for," Laura Wells said on TV. "I asked everyone to make this a positive campaign, but the Moss/Santos campaign refused to join our pledge. You all read that they have an attack ad, they are only biding their time to use it."

"We don't have an attack ad, do we?" Donna asked Josh.

"Not yet," Josh said and then caught her glaring at him. "Donna, every campaign has an attack ad, we don't plan to use it, it's just there for our security."

"You are collecting dirt on the Republican candidates?" Donna asked him.

"I don't need to collect dirt on Haffley," Josh admitted. "He is waist deep in dirt."

"You would tell me before using an attack ad, right?" Donna asked unsurely.

"I hope we don't need it, but of course we would tell you," Josh reassured her.

"There it is."

"Of course, Josh Lyman is a political operative. He knows he would never be elected as President but that doesn't mean that he doesn't want to act like one. All he needs is a gullible candidate and his is the power. Even his so called friends know this. He always wanted to be the guy behind the guy, as he used to put it so eloquently. He is the _eminence grise_ who works behind the scenes," Laura Wells concluded.

"She called me gullible," Donna said with a resigned sigh.

"Yeah, CJ will work with that," Josh said.

"Did you ever learn what CJ and Annabeth were plotting in Iowa?" Donna asked him.

"No," Josh said, smirking. Donna was famous for changing the topic at warp-speed. "Did you?"

"Something about our campaign staff," Donna said. "But that's all I was able to extract from them."

"Well, let them plot, we'll know soon enough what they are up to," Josh said.

"Josh?" Donna asked then, and Josh smiled again. He knew that he was about to hear another topic. He just wasn't prepared for the question.

"Yup, still here, honey."

"Can I change my name during the elections?" Donna asked him.

"Why would you want to change your name, Donatella?" Josh asked her, taken aback.

"You are so clueless sometimes," Donna swatted his arm playfully.

"I prefer when you say I'm sweet," Josh said, grinning. "But honestly, why would you want to change…" he didn't succeed to end his question. "I would be honored, Donatella, but I don't think that you should."

"I can't or I shan't?" Donna asked back.

"You really want to change your name?"

"I think when you asked me to marry you you had the intention to change my name too."

"Well, yes, but I didn't quite think that through," Josh said.

"I would like to have your name, Josh. Donatella Moss-Lyman sounds nice, don't you think?"

"I think it sounds fantastic. I don't know what the law says but we'll talk to Sam tomorrow," Josh reassured her.

"Oh, that's terrific! I didn't speak to Sam since ages! How is he?" she asked.

"Well, let's just say that he is probably the second happiest man on earth," Josh said.

"Why?"

"He found his soul-mate, or rather found her again," Josh said with a chuckle.

"Who is she?"

"Ainsley Hayes," Josh said.

"I knew an Ainsley Hayes, she had been working in the White House, in the counsel's office," Donna said.

"Yeah, we are talking about the same person."

"But, Josh! She was a Republican!" Donna exclaimed.

"Well, she still is," Josh said laughing.

"I would have never believed that Sam would fall in love with someone who is not a member of the Democratic Party."

"I think Sam was always for bi-partisanship," Josh explained laughing.

"And I think we should make sure that the Moss campaign and the Santos campaign works together as closely as possible," Donna said, her voice suddenly an octave lower. She pulled the remote from Josh' hand and switched off the TV.

"I'm all for strengthening the ties within the Democratic Party," Josh said with a grin, after kissing Donna thoroughly.

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_The road to the Democratic Convention…_


	13. Primaries

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

**Primaries**

* * *

There was one month during the primaries when Laura Wells did everything to discredit Donna, Josh and basically the whole Moss/Santos campaign. Donna wanted to strike back but when Toby presented her the 'dirt' they collected on Wells, she made the decision not to use it. She told Toby she wanted to show and not just tell that she led a positive, issue-driven campaign. So they attacked Laura Wells' position on everything that was 'targetable', from health care to law enforcement, from education to gun control. Meanwhile Kennison suffered a big loss on _Mini-Tuesday_, but Kendrick still led the race. Donna was a firm third. She won the Wisconsin primary with 82 per cent of the votes, and subsequently gave an outstanding interview which earned not only the pundit's but also Toby's praise. One week later, the Hawaii caucus was held and although in the past it was not a big event, it got coverage because one of the candidates was from the island. And when Laura Wells as the Democratic Senator of Hawaii lost the caucus, she had no other choice but to drop out. Kendrick won that primary and Donna came in second. It was a sweet victory.

Donna declared the day as her "Day of Jubilee" and since Josh refused to let her throw a party for his birthday earlier in the month, she celebrated Wells' demise instead. She invited all her friends and some of the campaign staff to join them in their jubilation.

"Maybe we should hire her chief of staff, she seemed to be professional enough and she is big at women's issues" Matt Santos said to the assembled grown-ups. The kids and Tal were in the living room, playing charades.

"No!" CJ, Donna, Helen and Annabeth exclaimed simultaneously.

"Okay, okay, it was just an idea," Matt tried to backpedal, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"No," Helen said again, looking him in the eyes.

"Okay, obviously I'm missing something," Matt said, throwing a questioning look at Josh. "What am I missing, Josh?"

"Amy is my ex," Josh said, flashing a bitter smile at the mayor.

"Oh, I see." Matt nodded and then turned to his wife, "And you knew that?"

"Matt," Helen said, letting out a tired sigh.

"Okay, so I'm obviously blind and dense," Matt said, letting out a self-deprecating smile.

"No, sir, just not very well versed in the D.C. gossip," Josh told him with a grin.

"Well, I'm really clueless when it comes to relationships. For example, I always thought that Senator Wyatt was still married to Toby and only learned the truth when she had that case in court about the twins," Matt said, looking at Toby.

"Well, Senator Wyatt never shied back from a fight, sir," Toby said with a chuckle. "And since I deluded myself with the same idea up until I asked her to marry me again, I really can't say that I resent you for not knowing."

Matt nodded and then let Donna steer away from the personal stuff.

"Haffley is still strong," Annabeth said after they returned to discussing the elections.

"I tell you the same thing I told Mrs. Bartlet, the elections will be a much easier task than the primaries," Josh said.

"You want Haffley to win the nomination?" Helen asked him with wide eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," Josh said with a chuckle. "Haffley is a quite the opposite you want in a President."

Yep," Ainsley took on, "he is petty, he is self-serving and he is a fascist. I really do hope that he doesn't get the nomination. No offense, Josh."

"None taken, Ainsley." Josh bowed his head towards her. "And I really do hope that the Americans are not that blind. But, we have Haffley's blunder, and that's a pretty powerful card to play," Josh added, and a glint appeared in his eyes.

"What kind of blunder?" Helen asked.

"His disrespect towards the office of the president," Ainsley told her. "You remember the shutdown some eight years ago?"

"Ah, yes!" Helen nodded.

"And the best thing is it's on tape," CJ said.

"The whole fiasco," Annabeth said with a confirming nod. "From CJ's briefing in front of the White House to the President waiting outside the Republican war room, it's all on tape."

The party was a good thing to happen because they barely saw each other for another month. After campaign stops in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Minnesota, they were united again in California. It was the 12th March. They waited for the results of Super Tuesday at Ainsley's house at Berkeley. Sam wanted to invite them to the governor's mansion in Sacramento but they declined. Not wanting him to put in a delicate situation with the media they opted for Ainsley's home, and Sam was happy enough to spend the day with them there. They knew that they wouldn't be able to win the California primary so they thought instead of waiting for a not likely live interview in an uncomfortable hotel war room; they would take on Ainsley's hospitality.

Donna won the Maryland and Vermont primaries and did a live call-in interview with CNN and NBC. She lost Connecticut to Kendrick and Josh wondered loudly what his former compatriots were thinking. Everybody was grinning at his agitation.

"There it is again!" Annabeth squealed in delight while they were waiting for the New York results. "I really love that sequence."

"You are a genius, CJ!" Josh said watching the sequence. She hugged CJ and then Annabeth too. "And you are a worthy criminal mind!"

"Well," Annabeth said with a humble but nevertheless radiant smile.

The pundits were rehashing the campaigns, and the sequence that made Annabeth squeal was NBC's own work. They had shown how multi-state, multi-racial and multi-educated the Moss/Santos campaign was. And the NBC did it all herself, so they never had to pay for it. It was an off-remark CJ made when someone asked her about rumors that Kennison might be discriminative towards non-blacks in his campaign. She said she didn't know anything about that but if someone wanted to take a look at campaign staffs they were free to do it. And so they did. More precisely, so he did. It was Danny who did a comparison and it was Danny who first interviewed Tal who was from Hawaii and then Otto who was from New Mexico. And then Annabeth from Oklahoma, Lou from New Jersey, Charlie from DC and Bram from the state of New York. And Danny interviewed them all. What it was like working for this particular campaign, what was Donna like and Matt? And the networks started calling the campaign the _All-American Bandwagon_ and they apparently still did. They showed a sequence with Donna who greeted voters in Otto's hometown and Matt who met with Annabeth's family, listing all the important campaign staffers who were from all around the United States.

New York was called for Kennison but Donna came in as a strong second. Kendrick took Georgia and Donna took Ohio. She did another phone interview with CNN and NBC and this time with Fox News too, although Josh was sour about that. Fox News repeated every one of Laura Wells' sound-bites with gusto, making Josh loathe them.

And then they were waiting for the California results. Everybody was pretty tipsy by that time. Matt and Helen were sitting on the floor, Sam and Ainsley commandeered the loveseat, with Toby, CJ and Annabeth on the couch. Josh was sitting in a chair, Donna leaning on his legs. Lou, Otto, Ronna, Tal and Bram were sequestered in a corner of the living room.

They were talking animatedly about Kennison's campaign when Josh' phone rang. He shushed the others and picked up.

"Charlie, my man, what's up?" he greeted his deputy with ebullience.

"Josh?" Charlie asked back somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes?" Josh asked, straightening. Donna looked up and suddenly everybody's eyes were fixed on Josh.

"I'm a father, Josh!" Charlie exclaimed and Josh jumped from his chair.

"Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed and then turned to the others. "They have the baby! Charlie is the father!" he shouted, making everybody chuckle. "I mean he is a father," he added with a sheepish grin.

"Ask him if it's a boy or a girl," Donna told him, linking her arm with his free one.

"It's a boy," Charlie imparted. "7 pounds and 18 inches. 10 fingers and 10 toes."

"Congratulations, Charlie! And give Zoey a kiss from us! Is Abbey there?" Josh asked him then.

"Yep. You want to talk to her?"

"Yes, please. Go back to Zoey and give the phone your mother-in-law," Josh said grinning and while waiting for Abbey he placed a light kiss on Donna's lips.

"Hi, Josh," he heard Abbey Bartlet then. She was crying.

"Hi, Abbey! Congratulations," Josh said gently.

"Thank you."

"How is Zoey?" Josh asked worried.

"She is okay but exhausted. It happened a bit too fast but they are both okay. It's a little boy, Josh," Abbey said sobbing.

"I know, I know. What's his name?"

"You know that," Abbey said choking on her words.

"Yeah, but I want you to say it," Josh insisted.

"Josiah Bartlet-Young," Abbey said. "They named him Josiah."

"To honor the best man I've ever known," Josh said in a whisper.

"Yes," Abbey said.

Josh said his goodbyes and then with tears in his own eyes turned to the others.

"Josiah Bartlet-Young, 7 pounds and 18 inches. And apparently it was important to Charlie that he came with 10 fingers and 10 toes," Josh said, his voice cracking at the end.

Everybody hugged each other and there were tears and there were smiles. Finally, Josh found himself in Ainsley's kitchen, staring into space. He thought about missed chances, he thought about his family. He was sad that he will never experience the moment Charlie just did and a single tear escaped his eyes. He loved Donna with every beat of his heart, and he loved Joanna and Leo like they were his own but the thought that there would be no one who called him Daddy was a painful one. He looked up and saw Donna's mirror image in the windowpane; she was looking at him with understanding in her eyes. Josh turned around and went to Donna. He enveloped her in a hug and they kissed until Josh' pain slowly dissipated and the joy of the knowledge that after all these years he found his one true love, his soul-mate overtook his heart.

"Josh, I…" Donna wanted to say but Josh shook his head. Donna nodded, and Josh gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he led her back to the room.

Josh saw CJ watching him and knew that his friend was aware of his thoughts. He tightened his grip around Donna's waist and then took a deep breath.

"Hey, who won the California primary?" he asked and his cheerfulness wasn't faked.

Suddenly everybody looked bashful and shy and they all looked at Donna for guidance.

"That would be me," Donna imparted with a shy smile.

"What?" Josh exclaimed and looked at Sam for confirmation. Sam nodded and Josh' face broke into a big grin. He kissed Donna with a passion that made the others in the room blush. And then everybody was all over them, congratulating Donna and patting Josh' back.

"This campaign is doomed," Toby said when he too approached Josh and Donna.

Donna's face fell and Josh burst out in laughter. Donna looked up at him confused and Josh tightened his arm around her waist.

"Doomed to succeed," he said and after he kissed her once again, Donna watched with awe as Toby joined his laughter. She let go off Josh and hugged Toby, making the older man flustered but he hugged her back.

"I would have never come so far without you," she whispered to him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Josh saw how touched Toby was and his heart took a happy jolt for his friend.

"Enough of the mushiness!" CJ exclaimed when she noticed Toby's embarrassment once the moment was over. "We need more champagne!"

Bram and Tal said that they were ready to go to the store and Josh gave them his credit card, telling them to get the best.

And the next morning all hell broke loose. Josh woke up in their hotel room with a hangover. Donna who drank with him all night didn't show any signs of a hangover. She took two Advil and drank a bottle of water when they arrived back at their hotel in the wee hours of Wednesday. Josh took the Advil but refused to drink anything and so he was dehydrated also cranky.

"Remind me never to drink again until Election Day," he groaned when he got out of bed.

"Okay," Donna said cheerfully. "I told you to drink the water."

"Hey, no lectures and 'told you so'-s while I'm suffering from the hangover from hell."

"That's because you mixed champagne and beer," Donna said with a grin. "I ordered food."

At the mention of food Josh rushed to the bathroom where Donna followed him.

"You want to be witness of my humiliation?" he asked, seeing Donna standing over him.

"No, I offer you to help," Donna said, placing a cool, wet washcloth over his neck. She caressed his head gently and then rubbed his back when Josh made another sacrifice to the porcelain god.

"I'm too old for this," Josh said.

"Nah, you just have a sensitive system," Donna said and Josh groaned again.

Suddenly a shrill noise echoed through the hotel room and Donna jumped up to get her cell phone. She came back five minutes later, Josh was brushing his teeth. Her face ashen, her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Honey," Josh asked, leaping over to Donna, gathering her into his arms. "What happened?"

"There was a… Oh, Josh!" she exclaimed and then buried her head into Josh' chest.

"Donna, honey?" Josh urged her worried.

"There was a shooting," Donna said, her body rocked by her sobs. "Oh, Josh! Two teenagers, a boy and a girl… They… They killed their classmates and their teacher."

Josh steered Donna over to the bed and sat her down. He pulled out their suitcases and started to pack. Ten minutes later, Toby and CJ arrived with Tal, Tal was sobbing and she threw herself into Donna's embrace.

"We are going back to Wisconsin," Josh said. "CJ, Toby, you are staying here with the Mayor and answer every question they have. Tal is coming with us. I have to talk to Lou, honey," he said then, turning back to Donna. "Tal, I know that it hurts but you have to book us tickets. It has to be first class and tell them that the Governor must get back to Wisconsin as soon as possible. Donna, is your phone charged?"

"Yes," Donna said. She was slowly beginning to notice the other people in the room. "Go, talk to Lou we have this end," she said then, wiping away her tears. "I'll call the kids," she whispered to him when he leant over to give her a kiss.

"Okay," Josh said and then hurried out of the room.

He intercepted Lou and Otto on the corridor. He told Lou that she was in charge and that they should proceed with the campaign as agreed. They were awaited back to Texas, the showplace of the next primary. He stepped into the Mayor's room and explained to him everything. He told him how sorry he was that neither he nor Charlie will be able to help him with the Texas primary but Matt Santos reassured him in his own way.

"Josh, I think you should know by now that I can fend for myself. Besides, you are only a phone call away and I have Lou and Annabeth. You hired them, they are fantastic, you have already done your part. Toby and CJ will handle everything that might arise. Go with Donna, be her rock in the stormy see."

Josh wasn't sure he could be that but he vowed to try. When he got back to his room Donna was done with packing. Tal stood next to her, her own suitcase in her hand.

"We have to hurry," Donna informed him and Josh nodded. "Toby is coming with us to the airport. You can sort out everything you need to."

"Okay," Josh said, picked up his and Donna's suitcase and they left the hotel.

On the way Josh and Toby were talking about the Texas primary and Donna was on the phone, talking to her lieutenant-governor. Seven hours later, they arrived in Madison, exhausted and emotionally drained.

Josh didn't see Donna until the next morning and even then only for ten minutes. They had time for a tender kiss, Donna thanked him for his support, kissed the kids goodbye and left again. Schools in Wisconsin were closed for the day, the principals all agreed to observe a day of respect. Josh caught Donna on CNN, she was about to visit the injured students in the hospital. She looked exhausted but determined. She was in full governor-mode. Josh never admired her more than at that moment. The reporters demanded a comment when she left the hospital but she only shook her head. The Governor's Press Office already got out a statement and the sheriff held a briefing in the morning.

And after dinner Josh came to a conclusion. He wanted to be there for Donna and her kids for the rest of their lives. And he couldn't do that if he stayed as campaign manager for Santos. Besides, after the convention they won't need a campaign manager for the vice-presidential candidate. Lou and Annabeth with the supervision of Charlie could get it done without difficulties. They would also have Bram, Ronna and Otto, and they were getting better at it every day. Toby would be General Chairman of the Moss for America campaign and he was a pretty good guy to commandeer their staff. Donna could travel with CJ, and Toby and Charlie would be at the DNC National Headquarters in Washington DC.

"Josh," Matt Santos greeted his campaign manager.

"Matt," Josh returned the greeting.

"Something is wrong, honey," Josh heard Matt's voice, "Josh called me Matt."

"I…" Josh stumbled. "I didn't mean any disrespect, sir."

"Tell me, Josh, would the First Gentleman address the Vice President with sir?"

"No," Josh said and sighed relieved. "You know what this call is about."

"Yeah," Matt said. "Listen, I still need you until the convention. That's three months, we can do wonders in three months."

"I would never desert you, sir," Josh said. "I was the one who roped you into this…"

"Josh, roping is a bit strong, don't you think?" Matt asked him.

"Yeah, okay, I persuaded you to do this and I'm certainly not jumping ship before it's in safe harbor or… you know… the captain catches a glimpse of the safe harbor."

"Okay, Josh, cut the seafaring metaphors and lay out your plans," Matt said and Josh complied.

Donna got home past midnight. She took a shower, grabbed something to eat and then fell asleep in Josh's arms. The next morning she looked definitely better, but Josh was still worried.

"Donatella, you are not taking care of yourself," he admonished her in a low voice over the breakfast table. The Secret Service asked Donna to keep the kids at home for the rest of the week and she agreed it without much complaint.

"I'm not hungry," Donna said, picking on her toast.

"You have to eat, Mommy," Joanna piped up. "You always tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Thank you, honey," Josh said, sending a grateful look to Joanna. "You see…"

"What? You are tagteaming me?" Donna asked back, anger flaring up in her eyes for a moment.

"Only because they love you, Mommy," Leo explained it to her, standing up and hugging his mother.

"Thank you," Donna told him, after she kissed the top of his head. "And thank you to you two too."

"We are worried about you, Donatella," Josh said in a gentle tone. "You should eat and rest more. Where are you going today?"

"To the school," Donna said. "They are holding a school memorial service before noon. The principal and President Leland will speak to the students."

"What about you?"

"I don't want this to turn into a political fistfight, Josh. Andrew will do this for me," she said, referring to her lieutenant-governor.

"May I accompany you to the memorial service?" Josh asked her.

"You would do this for me?" Donna asked him incredulously.

"If it helps you," Josh said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I would also like to pay my respect to the parents and the students."

"Thank you, Joshua," Donna said and nodded.

"Mommy?" Joanna asked then.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Donna asked back.

"May I accompany you and Josh? I want to help you too," the little girl said.

"Sweetheart, it will be a long ceremony, and the people there will be very sad. I don't think it's a place for little girls like you," Donna said.

"I'm not a little girl anymore," Joanna insisted.

"You are not, that's right, but I wouldn't want you to feel sad," Donna said.

"I want to come," Joanna said, looking at Josh for reinforcement.

"It's your mother's call, honey," Josh told her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Donna asked her daughter.

"I'm sure. I promise I will be silent and I promise I'll behave," Joanna tried to convince her mother.

"I'm sure you will, sweetheart," Donna said with a slight smile. "Okay, if the agents agree, but I don't see why not, the President will be there, he travels with an army of agents anyway."

"May I come too?" Leo asked in a whisper.

"Leo, honey, you don't have to," Donna said, turning to her son.

"I want to. I knew one of the students who died. He was Mr. Connor's son, he played chess with me once," Leo said.

"Oh, honey!" Donna said and gathered Leo into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Okay, I'll be upstairs soon to check on you. Joanna, you should wear your blue dress. Honey, your black suit is in my closet," Donna told them, and the two children left the dining room.

"Thank you, Josh," Donna said after placing a kiss on Josh's lips.

"I talked to Matt yesterday," Josh told her, after he pulled her into his lap.

"Are they okay in Texas? When do you head out there?" Donna asked him.

"They are okay, I won't go to Texas, we'll meet them in Illinois," Josh said.

"Okay. I think I won't be able to stick to the schedule but I'll be there as soon as possible," Donna said.

"We'll go together," Josh corrected her. "So I talked to Matt, yesterday."

"What about?" Donna repeated the question.

"I'll resign as his campaign manager after the convention," Josh imparted, watching Donna for her reaction.

"Why would you do that?" Donna asked him perplexed.

"I want to be with you, I'm sick and tired of being apart for weeks and I want to be with you and I want to be there for you whenever you need me, whenever the kids need me," Josh said. "You are my family, and I would like to actually spend some time with my family and not just when the situation requires my presence but all the time. In good times and bad."

"You know, I could withdraw from the Nebraska primary and we could marry earlier than planned," Donna suggested.

"Or we could travel to Colorado together, we would have all our friends there…"

"Not Charlie and Zoey," Donna inserted. "The Colorado caucus is in six weeks, I don't think that Zoey would like to leave the baby alone and Josiah can't travel yet."

"Yeah, that's right. Although we could have spent a honeymoon weekend near Mesa Verde," Josh said, wagging his eyebrows at Donna.

"I'm sure Charlie and Zoey would understand," Donna said then with a humorous glint in her eyes.

"You know what; we'll run it by CJ and then see if she agrees. She is usually good at this stuff," Josh suggested.

"Or we could ask Abbey," Donna said.

"That's even better," Josh agreed with a nod.

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_The Democratic Convention in New York _


	14. The Democratic National Convention

_A/N: Thank you for all the support and feedback I've received for this fic. There will be two more chapters and then I'm done. _

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

* * *

Josh was watching Donna as she made her way through the hall of the hotel. She didn't notice him apparently, but since he was already late he didn't really mind. Besides, he liked to watch her. Despite their plans, they married only the day before in a very private ceremony in the DC. All their friends were there, and all their kids. They had dinner in one of Donna's favorite restaurants and then they all traveled to New York to the Democratic Convention. They had a full schedule for the three days in New York, and Josh knew how many meetings his wife had that day only. And although she seemed to be cool as a cucumber, he knew her better. She was nervous if not jumpy. He didn't know why but Toby didn't tell him that there were any problems so it had to be something personal. He knew he could have had fun by playing with her nerves but then he reminded himself that he wasn't in high school anymore.

"Josh, she is your wife and she could make your life hell if she wanted," Charlie remarked.

"Oh, I was thinking loud again?" Josh asked back with a grin

"No, I just know you and that nefarious grin of yours," Charlie said, returning his grin. "Kennison's people are waiting for us."

"Wanna bet that they want to offer the vice presidency?" Josh asked his deputy.

"Nah, no bets, they definitely want that. I just don't know why they didn't want to talk to Toby," Charlie asked as they made their way to the car that was waiting to take them to the Madison Square Garden.

"Because I think that they want to offer the vice presidency to the Mayor and not to Donna," Josh said in the car.

"You are kidding me!" Charlie exclaimed.

"No, they want to downplay Donna's popularity. Believe me, they will tell us that the time is not right for a female president. They will tell we have to choose a minority candidate, and what else is better than a black and a Latino joining the ticket," Josh explained.

"I see. Well, this should be an interesting discussion then. Do they know that you are married to Donna?"

"I know that we only got married yesterday, Charlie, but we issued a statement, I think they know."

"Well, I met Kendrick's spokesperson earlier today, and she wasn't aware of the fact," Charlie said.

"Really?" Josh asked.

"I guess the Convention is bigger news than your marriage," Charlie asked.

"How can that be?" Josh asked, his egomania making a re-appearance.

"Well, I don't know how they dare pay more attention to actually electing the Democratic Candidate than to your nuptials," Charlie remarked sarcastically.

"I notice a certain lack of awe, a slackening of respect in your voice, Grasshopper," Josh joked back and Charlie just looked back at him with an astonished look on his face.

"What?" Josh asked him.

"That was an almost direct quote from President Bartlet," he said. "One day CJ and I were in the Oval going at it, and he said that line," Charlie told him.

"Well, what can I say? I reside with the greatest of them," Josh said with a wink.

Charlie grinned at him in response and they rode the rest of the way in silence. They were already awaited at the Convention Center and were led without further ado into a makeshift office occupied by Kennison's people.

"Good evening, Josh. Charlie," Turner Matthews, Kennison's Chief of Staff greeted them. He was a jovial man of almost 60 years. He was tall and very handsome. Some were fooled by his looks, but one look in his eyes and you knew that he had a keen mind and sharp wit. "Have you ever been to the Madison Square Garden? It's awesome, isn't it?"

"Okay, Turner, I don't have time for niceties, I'm having dinner with my wife," Josh interrupted him. "Spill it."

"You have a wife?" Turner asked him. "But I thought…"

"So, what is it?" Charlie asked, not giving time to Turner to actually voice his question. He didn't want Josh to fly off the handle before they were done with these people.

"Okay, okay. We wanted to let you know that the Senator was considering Santos as his running mate. You should take the offer to your candidate and get back to us tomorrow morning," Matthews said.

"What about the Governor?" Josh asked.

"Well, the Senator thinks it's not time for a female President or Vice President. These are hard times and there are hard decisions to make. Women are sensible creatures and that's the way it is, it's not bad or something it's just the truth. A Commander-in-Chief is required to make decisions of death or life, and his decision can't be clouded by some sort of female emotion that would hinder the person to send soldiers into harm's way."

"Are you saying that a President doesn't have to consider the lives he is risking when he is sending our soldiers into a war or for a peacekeeping mission?" Charlie asked bewildered.

"I didn't say that. I just said that women tend to look at these things from a different angle."

"Maybe it's time to look at things from a different angle," Josh said and stood up. "I'll take your offer to the Mayor but I wouldn't hold back my breath for a positive answer. The Mayor is a loyal man."

"Well, thanks for hearing us out and enjoy your dinner with your wife," Turner Matthews said.

"I don't know how enjoyable it will be after I report her back about our little chat, Turner. You know she might take it personally, being a female candidate for the presidency and all," Josh said and then without losing any other words he walked out of the office.

"He married her?" Turner asked Charlie.

"You should pay more attention to your opponents, Turner. They issued a statement yesterday after they got married," Charlie delivered the last blow and then hurried after Josh.

"They didn't know!" Josh said with a grin.

"No, they didn't. I think I'm high on adrenaline," Charlie said, returning Josh's grin.

"You should pick up Zoey and come have dinner with me and Donna," Josh said.

"Josh, you don't want people around for a dinner right after you got married. This is basically your honeymoon," Charlie said.

"Well, Sam and Ainsley will be there. The Mayor is having dinner with his family, CJ is with Gabriel and Joanna, Toby is with his kids and Leo, and I thought… But if you don't want I understand."

"Josh, it's not like I don't want to come," Charlie told him. "And you know Zoey really likes the Governor."

"Okay, then come over. We are having dinner in the suite. You can bring the kid along," Josh offered.

"No, we were supposed to go out, Deanna was really looking forward to baby-sit," Charlie said.

"Okay then. See you in our suite. You've got an hour to be there," Josh told him as he and Charlie got out of the elevator at the tenth floor.

Josh decided that he would talk about Kennison's offer after dinner or maybe during dinner while the others were there to help to calm Donna down. Although he had a really good method to do that, he didn't want to manipulate Donna that way. It would be 'handling' and he told her he wouldn't let anyone use him to do that, so he didn't want to do that on his own.

"Josh, is that you?" Donna asked from the bathroom when he walked inside.

"Who else would I be? Or should I be worried about you slipping your key to those young bellhops?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Josh," Donna stepped out of the bathroom to greet him with a kiss.

"Hm, that was nice," Josh said after the kiss and drew her closer to return the kiss.

"Yeah, definitely nice," Donna agreed with a smile playing on her lips. "You have to get ready, Sam and Ainsley will be her in an hour."

"I invited Charlie and Zoey, too. That's no problem, is it?" Josh asked.

"Well, if you already invited them it's a bit late to ask, don't you think?" Donna asked back.

"I just thought… I didn't… I just wanted…" Josh stammered.

"Relax, Josh. Of course it's okay to invite them. You know I like Charlie and I adore Zoey. Will they bring the baby?"

"No, Deanna is here and she was rather keen on babysitting," Josh explained.

"Well, that's gonna change pretty soon," Donna said with a grin. "Get ready, I'll phone CJ and Toby for an update on the kids."

The dinner was delicious, the conversation lively and animated. They had a fantastic evening together and when Josh dropped the bomb on Donna she took it with grace. Zoey said that once they had the nomination everybody would just shut up. The next day (the second day of the convention) was spent in a flurry of activity. Josh took Kennison's offer to the Mayor but he simply refused and Josh was happy to deliver the refusal in person. Charlie asked to be allowed to accompany him and Josh said yes. They had a celebratory coffee afterwards, although Josh drank decaf. The third day was packed with meetings after meetings of wheeling and dealing. Everybody was caught up in some conference. Donna was talking to Andrea Wyatt who would introduce her, and Sam was sequestered in his office with Annabeth to help him as he was asked to hold the keynote address that evening.

"Josh…" Donna rushed into the office not even noticing Senator Topper (who was managing the convention) standing just next to the door. "Andie is… Oh, sorry, Senator. Welcome to our humble offices," she said, offering her hand.

"Mrs. Lyman," Senator Topper greeted her. "I hear congratulations are in order."

"Moss-Lyman," Donna corrected him with a genuine smile. "And thank you. What can we do for you?"

"Is Senator Wyatt ready to speak on your behalf?" Senator Topper avoided her question.

"She always was," Toby inserted.

"We have to talk about her, guys," Donna said and then threw and unfathomable look at the senator.

"I'll make myself scarce, congratulations again, Josh, Mrs. Lyman," he said and then left the office.

"Moss-Lyman," Donna corrected him under her breath and then shook her head. Josh knew that she didn't really mind to be called Mrs. Lyman. "Well, Andie has doubts, Josh."

"Because of the thing?" Toby asked her.

"Yeah," Donna said.

"What kind of thing?" Josh asked louder than intended. He saw Donna and Toby exchange a nervous glance and they both shook their head after their silent communication.

"So neither of you talked to him," CJ stated.

"I think that can be construed as a given, CJ" Josh said, feeling pretty angry. "Could we have the room, please?" he then asked the assorted members of the Moss-Santos staff to leave. CJ ushered everyone outside and then left too.

"I just thought Toby told you, and since you didn't mention it I thought you were okay with it," Donna explained.

"I was thinking the same," Toby said.

"Well, care to initiate me NOW?" Josh shouted.

"Okay, Josh, calm down," Toby said. "We are doing it right now."

"After Wells dropped out I asked Toby whether he knew that I wanted him as my Chief of Staff should I win the elections," Donna started to explain. "He said he felt honored but he declined."

"Why?" Josh asked Toby.

"I'm not cut out for that stuff. You could have done it, hell, CJ could have done it but I can't. I wouldn't be any use in the Situation Room, besides the Governor needs a foreign relations expert in that office," Toby explained.

"We racked our brains who could do the job, Josh," Donna told him. "I thought Toby was talking about our search to you, and apparently he thought I was consulting you. At last CJ said that we should ask Andie. That's what we did yesterday."

"That's why you have been so nervous yesterday!" Josh exclaimed, the pieces of the puzzle finally forming a picture.

"Yes. She said she wanted to think about it and then she said yes this morning. That's why she is having second thoughts about introducing me," Donna said.

"I see. Well, we won't release that info until later," Josh said and then turned to Toby, "Who else knows about Andie?"

"CJ and Sam."

"Okay, we are keeping it under wraps until Election Day," Josh said. "If the unimaginable happens Andie still has to think about re-election in two years and we don't want to screw things up for her. And I don't want rumors flying around. We had our fair share of them already. Is there something I should know about you and Andie, Toby?"

"No," Toby shook his head.

"Good," Josh said with a nod. "Okay, that was obviously a miscommunication. Since the day after tomorrow will see my last day as General Chairman of _Moss for America _I think we should work on that. You need to keep Charlie in the loop."

"Okay," Donna and Toby said in unison.

"Josh, after you are abdicating you won't cease to work on the campaign, will you?" Toby asked.

"Toby, if Donna would be a man, what would you do with the spouse?" Josh asked him.

"Send her to other campaign stops," Toby said. "But I can't obviously send you and the kids to promote the Governor's education or family values agenda."

"Why the hell not?" Josh asked.

"You won't let me handle you, and if I left you alone you would put your foot in your mouth," Toby said.

"Helen can handle him," Donna inserted. "Let's just send them away together."

"But I tell you, Toby, I want to spend as much time with Donna as possible. I will help you, I'll wave, I'll participate in every grip and grin you toss at me but I want to spend time with my family," Josh said.

"Okay, we'll work on that. Should we win, you'll need a Chief of Staff too, you know that," Toby said.

"Since I didn't know that you would be available I already asked someone," Josh retorted.

"Good, I didn't want to say no to you but I don't think we could have worked well together. Who did you ask?" Toby inquired. "Charlie?"

"No, Matt needs him if we get there. Donna will poach Lou if she even wants to stay, but Charlie will stay with Matt. They are great together. Maybe even better than me and Matt. I asked Zoey," Josh said.

"Zoey Bartlet?" Toby asked dumbfounded.

"She can handle me, Toby," Josh said. "And she knows the charity stuff. I will help Donna with her political program but those allegations of Wells pretty much put a stop to having my own agenda. I'll help with the education plans and gun control bills; those are things I'm already associated with. It wouldn't look like I was pushing my own ideas. Otherwise, I will be a goodwill ambassador of the administration, and you and I both know that I need help with that."

"Well, that makes sense, I guess," Toby said.

"Okay, I'm calling back the others," Josh said and stepped outside for a moment. He drew a deep breath and smiled at CJ. "Let them alone for five minutes and then get back in there. I'll find Andie."

While the others were listening to Sam's speech Josh was looking for Andie; when he found her they talked about various things. Josh thanked her for accepting Donna's offer and then watched the events unfold. And then came the moment of truth, although everyone knew that the first cast of ballots won't bring any results. Annabeth who helped to manage the floor the last two times said she never saw the room so nervous. The first round had Donna and Kennison tied. Kendrick voiced his will to withdraw his name from the second round but didn't say he would endorse either candidate. Everyone but Josh was surprised, he knew that Kendrick's chief of staff would do the rounds later and offer their endorsement if he would be offered something else in return. He also knew that Kennison's people would seek them out again before the second round. This time they targeted Donna but Donna declined just as Matt did.

Josh and Toby talked about the possible offer from Kendrick and agreed that they shouldn't accept anything that came with conditions. Then they took it to Matt and Donna and they gave their consent. Just in time before the second round Harry Lamar appeared. Five minutes later, he was sent on his way with a refusal.

"Hello," Senator Topper stepped into their office again.

"Good evening, Senator," Josh greeted the senator with a smile. "What can we do for you this time?"

"I heard that you refused Kennison's offer again," Senator Topper said.

"Well, what can we say, we have a presidential and a vice-presidential candidate," Josh said.

"What about Kendrick's endorsement?" Senator Topper asked.

"Well, sir, offers with conditions attached always made me suspicious," Josh answered with a grin.

"Josh, really…"

"It's done business, Senator," Josh interrupted him. "We don't want Lamar, he made enough bad calls for Kendrick. And apparently Kennison doesn't want him either. I'd bet that he offered Kendrick's endorsement them first."

"Yeah," the Senator confirmed and then left their office.

The second round came and pundits on Fox News already called it a deadlock convention. Kendrick didn't speak up and Josh was pissed at the comments from the newscasters. They said that the Democrats were dragging their feet and that they were putting up a show although everyone knew that Kennison will be the nominated. Before the third round Kendrick finally released his delegates and compelled them to vote for Donna. That seemed to seal the deal.

The Democratic National Convention nominated Donna as the party's presidential candidate and then Donna was asked to the stage. Her acceptance speech–a collaboration of Sam and Toby–was inspiring and touching at the same time. Even the pundits couldn't find anything to criticize in it. Donna then asked Matt to join her on the stage and when they raised their clasped hands in a signal of triumph Josh's heart skipped a beat. This was it. The coronation of his political career. He knew he couldn't have done it without Toby, CJ, Donna and Matt and the others, but he also knew that this was his dream come true, it was his strategy that put those two up there. He was immensely proud of Donna and Matt. He took Joanna's hand in his right and Leo's in his left and squeezed them. They were both awestruck by all the balloons, the confetti and the music and the mass of people. And then Donna found them and waved them closer. She asked them to join her on the stage and she hugged all three of them. Josh noticed that Matt was doing the same with Helen, Miranda and Peter. He knew that he had a new role to fill, starting the day after but this night he was still Joshua Lyman, political mastermind and General Chairman of the _Moss for America_ campaign.

_TBC_

**Next up…**

_Election Day._

If you still like this story, please leave a review. Thanks : )


	15. Election Day

_A/N: I know I'm awfully late with this chapter, but I had some issues, at some point it included character death, but then I just couldn't kill Toby, he being my favourite character after Josh and Donna. So here it is, enjoy. There will be one more chapter and then I'm done with this fic. Thanks for all the support and feedback I got on this fic, I hope you'll like this chapter, if you do, please leave a review.  
_

**MOSS FOR AMERICA**

* * *

Josh watched Donna again, and remembered watching her two months earlier, leaving the stage with grace and poise just the way she did everything. He had been waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. They were campaigning in the South, and that had been their second stop in Mississippi. The day he called 'The Most Crappiest Day In My Life.' He thought he had seen everything, he thought he had experienced everything. Everything humans were capable of. Well, obviously he didn't see anything until that night back in Mississippi. It all started well, Donna nailed the speech in Southaven. 

"How was I?" Donna asked, looking at him with some trepidation. "I messed up Social Security, didn't I?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Josh said.

"Josh!" CJ whacked him on the head.

"Hey, careful there, you are inflicting bodily harm on the future First Gentleman. I'm sure there is a law against that," Josh said with mock seriousness.

"Honestly, Josh, did I mess up?" Donna asked him.

"Donna, of course you messed up Social Security, that's what we are aiming for. You want to mess up Social Security; you want to mess it up and then fix it," Josh added.

"You are incorrigible, mi amour," CJ said with a huge smile.

"I didn't mess up that part of the speech?" Donna asked, looking at Josh for confirmation.

"No, honey, you were amazing. Like always. Honestly," Josh said with a sincerity that was unusual for him.

"Okay then," Donna said. "Take me to our room and feed me."

"At your service, ma'am," Josh bowed slightly and looked up at her with a mischievous smile.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Josh shook his head.

"Come on, Josh, I know that look! It's a look I've come to fear," Donna said.

"What? Donatella Moss, future leader of the free world doesn't fear anything," Josh said mockingly.

"She does," Donna said, eliciting a sigh from Josh.

"I told you not to worry about it," he said.

"I choose to worry about it, Josh," Donna said a bit more harshly than she might have intended, judging by the look on her face, Josh thought. "Sorry. I just worry. I tend to worry about the kids and you."

"You shouldn't. You have other things to take care of, other things to focus on," Josh said.

"You just told me I was amazing, I'm multi-tasking," Donna said with a slight smile.

"I see," Josh said, returning her smile.

"Did Wesley manage to track the letter to the sender?" Donna asked.

"No, they had a lead but it was a dead end," Josh said. "Listen, Donna, I received hundreds of such letters while I was working in the White House."

"I know, you already told me. Josh, I can't turn off the switch, I can't stop being worried about you," Donna said with a sigh.

"Okay, but don't let it consume you," Josh said.

"I won't. Come on, let's have dinner. Toby said he had numbers he wanted to show me after his stunt at that radio station."

"Okay," Josh said and followed her to the SUV that were standing there to bring them back to the hotel.

"You know, one thing I'll never miss from the campaign trail is the hideous hotels," Donna said. "Although they did become nicer after the convention, just like you promised."

"We have mo' money, my dear," Josh told her with a smile and then ushered CJ and Tal into the car. That's when he heard his phone ring. He sighed and looked down at the display. It said Toby.

"Hi, Toby, what's up?"

"Mr. Lyman?" an unfamiliar voice greeted him at the other end.

"Yes, I'm Josh Lyman," he said, and shrugged his shoulders when Donna and CJ cast a questioning look at him.

"Mr. Ziegler was taken to the Baptist Memorial Hospital," he heard the unfamiliar voice. "You were the last number he called, that's why I called you."

"What happened?"

"Sorry, sir, I can't divulge any other information via a cell phone. I'll tell the nurse at the reception desk to let you in."

"Wait!" Josh shouted. "What's your name?"

"My name is Harry Winslow, sir."

"Thank you. Mr. Winslow, we will get to the hospital as soon as we can," Josh said, hopped into the car and turned to the driver. "We are going to the Memorial Hospital."

"Sir, we can't," the driver, a Secret Service agent, said, "it's not cleared and…"

"Okay, then drop me and CJ off at the hospital, and you can take the Governor and Ms. Thompson to the hotel."

"Sir…" the agent wanted to protest.

"This is not up for negotiation," Josh said in a peremptory tone of voice.

"Alright, sir," the agent complied.

"What happened?" Donna and CJ asked at the same time.

"Toby was taken to the hospital," Josh said. "I don't know more, I don't know what happened but I have to go there."

"I want to come too," Donna said.

"Donna, I understand that. To clear the hospital, it takes time. And I just don't know about Toby's condition. I know you worry about him, I know you want to see him, but let me and CJ go and make sure that he is okay. I'll call you as soon as we know something, I promise," Josh said.

"I want to come," Donna whispered, squeezing CJ's hand. "But I understand that I would only hold you up."

"Thank you, Donna," CJ said in a whisper.

The driver dropped them off at the hospital and the nurse let them in. Toby was sent to the Emergency Room, the nurse said he was walking when he came in, escorted by two police officers. Ten minutes later, a young doctor came to tell them about Toby's condition. They made the obligatory introductions and then asked what was wrong with Toby.

"Mr. Ziegler sustained a serious head injury," the doctor started to explain.

"How?" CJ asked him.

"He doesn't remember. The police officers are questioning witnesses on the scene, they'll tell you."

"There is a crime scene?" Josh asked him.

"Yes, but I don't know more since he can't remember. There is a cut on his head; we had to stitch it together. He will have serious a headache for the next couple of days, I already gave him a prescription for a good painkiller," the doctor said.

"Can we take him home?" CJ asked.

"No, Mrs. Cregg, I don't think you should. He has a trauma and I'd like to keep him here overnight for observation. Now, what the biggest problem is…"

"Here it comes," CJ said in a whisper, gripping Josh's upper arm.

"He doesn't seem to remember why he is here in Mississippi. He says he lived in New York…"

"New York? He didn't live in New York since the nineties!" CJ exclaimed.

"Really? Then his amnesia is more severe than I thought. I would like the both of you to come with me and then we'll see," the doctor said.

"Amnesia?" Josh asked.

"Not uncommon for patients with head injuries," the doctor said.

"You said it was more serious than you thought," Josh prompted him.

"Yes, I thought he had short term memory loss, but since I didn't know anything about him…"

They entered the examination room, and Toby looked up. His head was bandaged, he practically wore a turban. His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes were torn and rumpled, and when he waved at CJ, they saw that he had a bandage on his right wrist too.

"Hi, CJ," Toby greeted his friend. "And hi, stranger," he said, looking at Josh. "The doctor says I might have amnesia. Since CJ is so friendly with you and I don't know you, I have to agree with him."

"This is Josh," CJ told him. "Doctor, how much should we tell him?"

"It would be best if he himself started recognizing people, but the names are okay."

"Okay," CJ and Josh nodded.

"CJ, since he seems to know you, I'll leave you with him and call the Governor."

"Governor Bartlet is here in Mississippi?" Toby asked.

"No, Toby," CJ shook her head, casting a helpless look at Josh. "Governor Moss. Donna, our friend."

"We are friends with a Governor?" Toby asked her.

"Sure thing," CJ said with a smile.

"Okay, we'll transfer him to a room, you can go with him. Tomorrow morning, if nothing happens, he will be released. Mr. Lyman, if you could arrange some clothes for Mr. Ziegler…"

"Sure, Doctor, and thank you very much," Josh said, and then left.

He was asked to leave the building altogether for his phone calls.

"Andrea Wyatt."

"Hi, Andie, this is Josh," he greeted Toby's former wife.

"Hi, Josh, it's pretty late, what happened?"

"Okay. Sit down, please," Josh instructed her.

"I'm sitting," Andie said in a strained voice.

"Toby had an accident. I don't know the details," Josh said. "I'm in the hospital, talked to him. He will be okay," he hurried to reassure Andie.

"What happened to him?"

"He has a serious head injury, Andie. They had to stitch his forehead," Josh said. "But he will be okay. Physically," he added in a whisper.

"What does that mean?" Andie asked, her voice bordering on a shriek.

"He has amnesia," Josh imparted. "A severe one, by the look of it."

"What does that mean?" Andie pressed on.

"It means that he didn't recognize me."

"But you said you talked to him."

"Yeah, I talked to him. CJ re-introduced me," Josh said.

"He remembered CJ?" Andie asked quietly.

"Yeah," Josh confirmed. "Andie, you know what that means?"

"That he will remember me but not his kids," Andie said in a resigned tone.

"Yup. Nevertheless, I think you should pack up Huck and Molly and come to Southaven," he suggested.

"Okay. You'll wait for us?"

"We are in Memphis tomorrow," Josh said. "That's ten miles from here, so we'll be close. CJ will stay with Toby."

"Okay," Andie said. "Thanks for calling me, Josh."

"I still have to call the Governor and then Charlie, but if you have any questions, call me back," Josh told her.

"You called me first?" Andie asked incredulously.

"You are the mother of his children, Andie. His wife," Josh explained.

"Ex-wife," Andie corrected him. "Thanks Josh, bye!"

"One more thing to confuse him," Josh said under his breath after he hung up.

He called Donna and then tried Charlie but he couldn't reach him. He decided to call him later, and return to the hospital. When he did a police officer was already there to give them information about the accident. He pulled CJ and Josh out of Toby's room, Toby was already half asleep.

"Mrs. Cregg, Mr. Lyman, it was a deliberate act," he told them. "Someone pushed him off the curb, at least that's what the witnesses said."

"Deliberately?" Josh asked back incredulously.

"According to the witnesses," the officer told them. "Does Mr. Ziegler have any enemies?"

"He is the Campaign Manager for the democratic candidate," Josh informed the police officer. "We received some hate mail in the last few weeks," he added then. "I'll call the head of the Governor's detail. You can count on the Secret Service with this one."

"That's okay, we are not exactly equipped to have this investigation," the officer said and that's when Josh's phone rang the second time around.

"Josh Lyman," he greeted the caller, an unknown number.

"Josh?" Annabeth sniffed.

"Yeah?" Josh asked back in trepidation.

"We are at the hospital," Annabeth said.

"Oh no!" Josh exclaimed. "What the hell is happening?"

"We were shot at. Charlie was hit," Annabeth said in an almost whisper.

"Charlie?" Josh asked back incredulously, and he got agitated immediately, his mind refusing thinking about the ways to tell Zoey that her husband was shot.

"Yeah, he is in surgery now, the bullet was still in," Annabeth said.

"Where?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Where was he hit?" Josh clarified.

"Oh! In his leg," Annabeth said. "The doctors said it didn't look bad, or something like that. It was a sheer flesh wound."

"Anybody else injured?" Josh asked back.

"Helen Santos," Annabeth said. "A bullet grazed her shoulder. She is okay, just in pain."

"Anybody else?"

"Well…" Annabeth hedged.

"Yes?"

"Otto pushed Lou to the ground and they are both sporting a rather large bruise on their heads. But they are okay. Mostly," Annabeth tried to reassure him.

"What does mostly mean?" Josh asked back impatiently.

"Lou sees everything double," Annabeth informed him.

"What do the doctors say?" Josh asked.

"They said they would like to keep her overnight for observation. I'll stay with her, don't worry about it," Annabeth told him.

"You okay?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, Bram pulled me down," Annabeth said. "I think he saved my life."

"Okay," Josh said with a slight smile. "Call me when there is word on Charlie. We had an accident too, but nothing life-threatening."

"What happened?"

"Listen, Annabeth, I think you went through enough…"

"No, I want to know. It's my job to know these things," Annabeth pressed on.

"Toby was pushed off the curb; he was hit by a car. He has amnesia; he doesn't seem to remember the last fifteen years of his life."

"Oh! My! Gosh!"

"Yeah, you can say that twice. I'll call the Governor and you call me when there is word on Charlie?"

"Sure thing," Annabeth said and they hung up. CJ looked at him with a questioning look.

"They were shot at. Charlie was hit in the leg, a bullet grazed Helen's shoulder, Lou and Otto sustained head injuries when he pushed her down to the ground." This elicited a slight smile from CJ.

"But they are okay?" CJ asked back.

"Well, mostly, as Annabeth put it. I don't have time to explain it. I have to call Wesley and Donna."

And he did. Toby got a security detail, his and Donna's detail was upped. So was the Mayor's. Donna lived in constant fear, Josh lived in constant fear and everybody lived in constant fear for two weeks after the attacks. Until one day Josh shook himself and held a speech for the joint campaign forces.

"We can't let them win," he said. "If we live our lives in constant fear of 'might-bes' and 'what-ifs' we will go crazy, and we'll lose focus. We have a campaign to experience, we have an election to win, we have a candidate to fight for. So let's experience it! And it would also be nice to win it," he added then with a brief grin. "I know it's a lot to ask for, but I have to ask for it. I know how hard it is, but we have to face this fight. There will be always people for whom we'll always be a thorn in the eyes, but personally I don't give shit about those people. Let their hatred consume their lives; let them live their lives without a heart. I want us to win; I want us to show them that they didn't get to us. I don't want to try belittle anyone's injuries, but you have to stand up and fight," he finished his speech.

"That was one hell of a pep talk, boss," Charlie said with a grin and then everybody got down to work, they had an election to win.

And there they were, Election Day dawned and Josh watched Donna climbing out of their bed, moving gracefully and poised across the room.

"You are beautiful," he said, and Donna turned with a smile on her face.

"You planning on getting out of bed?"

"No, I was thinking. And come to the conclusion that we should stay in bed the whole day," Josh said, arching his eyebrows questioningly.

"Nice try there, Joshua, but I want to experience the whole campaign," she said, referring to his words. "And I'd say Election Day is a pretty big part, I'm not missing it."

"It's always the same," Josh said then with a sigh.

"For you, Joshua," Donna said with a sad smile.

"Maybe. Also there is the possibility that I'm behaving like a five year old and lying for having my way. It's not the same. It wasn't the same, not ever. And this is certainly not the same as the last time," he admitted.

"It isn't?"

"No, it's always a new experience. And the excitement and the heat and all those other things are constant but always different. There are other states in play, there are other things to worry about, so I have to admit, I was just whining to get my way."

"And for admitting it you can have your way with me for now," Donna said, climbing back into the bed, positioning herself on top of him.

"Really?"

"Really. But make it good, Josh, this might be the last time you make love to the Governor of Wisconsin," Donna said with a grin.

"I will always make love to the love of my life, Donatella," Josh confessed after a tender kiss, making Donna's eyes misty. "You know I've never imagined having sex in the White House."

"Josh, I have to tell you something," Donna said with a serious face.

"Yes?" he asked, after planting a kiss on her neck.

"Abbey told me that there is a rule to follow in the White House," Donna said.

"Really?" Josh asked, still distracted by Donna's beautiful neck. "What kind of rule?"

"There can't be any sex in the White House. Under no circumstances is sex allowed in the White House."

"What?" Josh shouted, sitting up, almost knocking Donna off the bed.

"Oh, boy, you should have seen your face!" Donna said before letting out a laugh. Then she looked at Josh again, and she couldn't hold it together anymore. She was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. "Oh my God!" she choked on her words. "You really looked hilarious, Josh."

"Let me tell you something, Donatella, my love. Payback is a bitch," he said, flipping her. He looked into her eyes, making her sober up by the intensity his gaze held. "I love you, my Donatella."

"And I love you, my Joshua," she whispered back before he captured her lips.

Somehow Donna managed to convince Josh to take a shower and then go to the war room to grab breakfast. The kids were still at Maple Bluff, Josh and Donna decided that they should spend most of the day there.

Because Toby was still not able to remember a big chunk of his life, Josh overtook the campaign once again as General Chairman of _Moss for America_. They kept Toby with them, everyday hoping that something would trigger his memories.

"Josh!" CJ greeted him with a hug as they stepped into the war room at the hotel. The attacks left all of them shaken, but maybe CJ was the worst. She took comfort in the fact that Toby still remembered her, but Josh knew that she was worried about her friends beyond reason. She was very affectionate ever since then, taking Josh by surprise on the first day she greeted him with a hug before staff meeting. By now, he was pretty much used to it, in fact he secretly enjoyed it. Of course he never ceased to tease CJ with it, but he always made sure that she knew it was only teasing and not complaining.

"Claudia Jean, should we win the White House, can I count on a hug every morning?" he asked her.

"There is a rule in the White House, Josh," Zoey told him, "no sex, no kissing, no hugging."

"Holy mother of…!" Josh exclaimed. "You are in cohorts with my wife!"

Zoey, CJ, Annabeth and Donna exchanged a quick glance and then burst out in laughter simultaneously.

"Et tu, Annabeth?" Josh asked mock-wounded.

"I didn't believe CJ and Zoey when they told me you were that predictable, but I think I should ask for their forgiveness for ever doubting their words," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, yeah," Josh said in a mock-annoyance, but then a grin appeared on his face. "Once we are in the White House…"

"You said it wrong!" Toby said. "You said it wrong," he repeated after Josh threw him a questioning look. "You didn't say _should we win_, you said _once we are_," Toby clarified. "You should go outside, turn around three times and spit, otherwise you'll jinx it."

"What?" Donna asked dumbfounded.

"Toby? You just remembered something, right?" Josh asked his friend, grabbing his upper arm.

"Yeah, there was this guy, you and I told him to go out, turn three times and spit," Toby said.

"Yeah, that's right. That was Sam. Our friend, Sam," Josh said with a big grin. "Toby, this is fabulous! I think this is a breakthrough."

"What breakthrough?" Charlie asked as he walked into the room, accompanied by Sam and Ainsley. "Look who I found loitering in the hotel lobby!"

"Sam!" Josh cried out in joy. "Come, Toby just remembered something about the three of us."

"Really?" Sam asked excited.

"Okay, we'll leave the guys to their joyful reunion. Ainsley, how are you?" Donna asked her.

"Thanks, I'm good. You know I would have never thought I would be at the Democratic Headquarters on Election Day," Ainsley said, eliciting a laugh from the women who surrounded her. "Did you manage to pull that joke on Josh? The no sex in the White House one?"

"You know, I just did," Donna admitted with a grin. "Gosh, you should have seen his face! I'm really starting to regret I didn't have a camera with me."

"I bet," Ainsley said, returning Donna's grin. "I'm starving, are there any bagels?"

"Ainsley found the buffet." Josh nudged Sam in the ribs.

"Yeah, although this really wasn't a challenge for her," Sam shared, looking at Ainsley with a fond smile on his face.

From around 10 a.m. Josh was showing signs of slowly going round the bend. He felt like his head was going to explode and he didn't know what to do. Donna tried to calm him down, but he was way past reassuring words. Donna took him back to their hotel room for a little stress relieve, but they were barely back when Josh had a little nutty.

"Pumpkin Patch, is there anything I can do to get you to go over to the Mansion for the next eight or so hours?" Donna asked him exasperated.

"It's just that these numbers don't add up. I mean they say…"

"Josh, stop harassing your wife and come here!" Sam shouted to him.

"What are you two doing here?" Josh asked Sam and Charlie.

"Well, what does it look like?"

"It looks like you are playing chess," Josh said befuddled. "You know, I will talk to the Mayor, he might want to reconsider his offer should we win," he said, looking at Charlie.

"Josh, you have been working on this campaign for long enough. In the last two months you worked 18-20 years, give it a rest," Sam told him.

"It's here, Josh. There's nothing to do but let it run its course. There's nothing left to do," Charlie told him. "Now, sit down and help Sam."

"Why don't you ask Toby to help you?" he asked Sam after ten minutes passed in silence.

"Because he looks like he is enjoying himself," Sam said, throwing a quick glance in the direction of Toby who was standing next to Donna and CJ, talking to them about something that the two women must have found funny judging by their identical grins.

"He got back into the campaign pretty quickly," Charlie said quietly.

"He was a political animal all his life, I guess you can take the man out of politics, but you can't take the politics out of the man. Or something to that effect," Josh added with a 'whatever' hand gesture. "May I leave?"

"If you don't bug your wife anymore then you may," Charlie said with a stern face.

"I promise," Josh said and then walked around the war room. He settled down in front of one of the televisions and watched the pundits, but got pretty restless pretty soon.

"Josh, I thought Charlie was kidding when he said you could get this way, but I see now that he wasn't making things up," he heard Matt Santos' voice from behind him.

"Hi, Matt," he greeted the Mayor with a smile.

"CJ said they are forming a Sisterhood kind of thing," Matt informed Josh. "I think it's just a cover to break out the booze early."

"Yeah, that's probably right. But otherwise, you should never make fun of the Sisterhood. That's an advice for free."

"Thanks," Matt said with a grin. "How you holding up?"

"I know that I shouldn't be this agitated. I mean I already got the best out of this campaign, but I really want to win. All the hours, all the money, all the energy. We really deserve to win," Josh said. "That and Haffley is an idiot. Hey, Donna, what about Australia?" he shouted then to Donna.

"What about Australia, mi amore?" CJ asked him, coming over to them.

"Well, he is bugging me with this the whole day," Donna told her. "He says should the Americans choose Haffley, he has to move to another country because he can't live in the same country with so many morons."

"Josh!" CJ admonished him.

"What? I'm right, and you know that," Josh said.

"You might be right, but you can't seriously think about moving to Australia," CJ said.

"I'm an…"

"No, you really are not," Toby inserted with a barely hidden grin.

"You can't possible know what I wanted to say!" Josh exclaimed indignantly, but then threw a sideways look at Toby and then grinned. "Or you might. So what did I want to say?"

"That you are an outdoorsman, but you really are not," Toby said with a grin.

"You remember?" Josh asked him, and it seemed like everybody was holding back their breaths.

"Yeah, every single idiot thing you have ever said," Toby told him, hiding his smile behind his beard. "And I would also like to thank you."

"For what?" Josh asked him.

"For being there for me. For doing my job," Toby said in a low voice.

"But of course, Toby," Josh said, patting his friend's shoulders. "That's what friends are for. I would do that every time for you."

"You are butchering the English language again," Toby said. "And I want to see those speeches, Samuel!"

"Hey, Donna asked me to write the speeches," Sam said taking mock-offence.

"Whatever. Just let me see if there are any verbs in those speeches," Toby demanded. "You and your imagery!" he huffed.

"Toby, you are back!" CJ exclaimed, and threw herself at him.

"Yeah, yeah," Toby said, awkwardly patting her back.

"I'm so glad," CJ whispered, but Josh heard her.

"I'm glad to be back," Toby said. "And thank you, CJ," he offered in a whisper, lifted CJ's hand to his lip and kissed it.

CJ could only nod and bury her head in Toby's shoulder. He gently pulled her closer and they stood there until Tal flew into the room.

"I've got the first exit polls from the East Cost!" she shouted.

And so it went. Around 6 o'clock Josh rode to the Residence with Wesley and brought the kids over to the hotel. They were allowed to color states on the whiteboard once they were called. It looked like that Josh didn't share his home country with morons, although Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia were quickly declared for Haffley.

It was clearly evident from the reports that there was a significant increase in voter turnout, and this made Donna incredibly happy. She wanted that from the first moment on, and she thanked Toby because it was his strategy that made her wish came true.

"Sam, I want that included in my speech, if that's not a problem," she told Sam, who was pouring over her speeches.

"Of course, ma'am," Sam said and turned his attention back to the speeches.

Around eleven it was getting clear that Sam only needed to polish the victory speech. And it was not long after midnight that the election was called for Donatella Moss.

"Looks like I have to stay in the old US of A for the rest of my life," Josh whispered into Donna's ear when she hugged him as the election was called.

"Looks like you are facing four years of teasing from CJ, Joshua," Donna whispered back.

"Looks like we can watch _Nemo _in the White House movie theatre," Josh listed.

"Looks like we will have sex in the White House," Donna added.

"Looks like you'll be the leader of the free world," Josh said, sobering up a little.

"Looks like you'll be married to the leader of the free world," Donna resorted back to the teasing.

"Looks like I'm going to find out what it's like to make love to the President of the United States," Josh joked along.

"See, that's something you should never utter in CJ's presence," Donna said, laughing. "You are the First Gentleman-in-Waiting," Donna said.

"Gosh, that is a mouthful," Josh whined.

"They will call you _sir_ all the time," Donna teased him.

"And they will _ma'am_ you all the time," Josh teased back.

"But you will call me your Donatella?" Donna asked back, and Josh heard a little insecurity in her voice.

"Always, my Donatella, always," he promised her.

"Thank you, my Joshua," she said and kissed him.

_TBC_

**Next up...**

_Inauguration_


	16. Inauguration

**Moss for America **

* * *

The campaign's senior staff plus Josh and Zoey were sequestered in a little conference room, they were waiting for Donna to arrive; she, Lou and Andie had a meeting with the DNC chair. 

"Sellner would be a good Secretary of State," Toby said.

"I don't know, Toby," CJ said, "he was not really sold on the female President idea."

"It's service to the President of the United States, you don't say no to that," Charlie inserted.

"Yeah, but I don't want someone within the Cabinet bad-mouthing the President and her agenda," CJ said.

"Andie will feel him out and then Donna can ask him," Josh joined the conversation. "I have my doubts about Sorensen."

"We can't have Higgins, and Sorensen is the second best choice," Toby said.

"Why can't we have Ken Higgins?" Annabeth piped up.

"The secretary must be a civilian who has not served in the armed forces for at least 10 years," Toby explained to her.

"Oh, I see," Annabeth said and then turned to Josh, "You don't like Sorensen?"

"He is too slimy," Josh said.

"He once complimented Donna at a fundraiser during the primaries," CJ explained to Annabeth who sent Josh a knowing smile.

"At least he is not opposed to a female President," Zoey said.

Josh grumbled something inaudible, making Zoey and Annabeth exchange a smile again.

"Did the Mayor send some names for the Secretary of Veteran Affairs?" Josh turned to Charlie.

"Yeah, three to be precise," Charlie said with a nod, sliding a note over to him.

"I will give this to Andie and Donna for their consideration," Josh said. Andie asked him to help the Transition run smoothly.

"They should be back by now," Toby remarked after stealing a glance at his watch.

"The Chairman is an old gossip," Donna said as the three of them stepped into the conference room.

"Madam President-elect," Toby greeted her, and everyone scrambled to their feet.

"Oh for God's sake," Donna exclaimed, seeking out Josh, asking him to do something about the formalities.

"Sorry, ma'am, that's the way it will be for the next eight years," Josh said, pulling out the chair at the head of the table. "How was your meeting with the old gossip?" he asked then, leaning forward, stealing a kiss on his favorite spot where her neck and shoulder met.

"It was okay," Donna said after sending a fond smile at Josh who took place next to her. Andie sat down opposite him. "Andie and Lou were fantastic. The old curmudgeon wanted to convince us that we shouldn't start our legislative agenda with education but rather Social Security."

"We need a win before we can tackle Social Security," Josh inserted.

"I'm not sure our planned education bill will be smooth sailing," Lou said.

"It won't be," Donna said, "and we don't need an easy win. We need a win we deserved. We need to convince the American public that the bill is good for everyone. We need to convince the Representatives that we are right and their views are antiquated."

"We need a hard-earned win," CJ summarized.

"Yes. That's what you, CJ and Lou will be working on from now on," Donna said. "I will ask your opinions about appointments and such, but your priority is to get our message out about the upcoming education bill."

"But first we need to find sponsors," Toby inserted.

"That's Andie's and Charlie's task," Donna said. "And Matt's. Charlie, where is Matt? I thought he would be here today."

"He is scouting out schools with Mrs. Santos," Charlie told her.

"I thought they already found a place," Donna said, turning to Josh.

"Turns out Miranda didn't like it," Josh said with a shrug.

"Yeah, we might have to do the same too," Donna said with a tired sigh. "For all the things I thought will be difficult, finding a good school was the hardest."

Toby, Andie and CJ nodded in unison, Zoey and Charlie exchanged a worried glance.

"You'll have it easy," Josh told them, "between the four families we'll cover every form of education."

"Yeah, it will be a walk in the park," Charlie said sarcastically.

Walk in the park it was not, although Sellner said yes to the Secretary of State offer. They got Sorensen as head of the DoD but the New Year celebrations came and went and they still didn't have an Attorney General or a Secretary of Labor. They had a Treasurer but no Surgeon General. Finally they asked Ellie, and she put in one of her former Professor's name for consideration. At last Donna asked former Associate White House Counsel and Minnesota State Attorney General Joe Quincy to serve. Quincy's appointment was the first where Donna and her staff didn't see eye to eye. She met with Joe after Ainsley said no to her offer. Andie, Toby, CJ, Lou and even Charlie tried to convince her not to appoint Joe as Attorney General but she stood her ground. She said if he won't be confirmed she would appoint whomever they wanted but she would go with Joe for the time being.

The Inauguration drew nearer and nearer and despite the lack of a Secretary of Labor they were satisfied with the work they were able to do during the transitional months. Zoey and Otto were put in charge of the ceremonial part of Inauguration Day. From Donna's dresses for the balls to the Bible they took care of everything.

Josh and Donna woke up early on the day of the Inauguration ceremony. They showered together (to conserve water, was Josh's argument) and then went down to have breakfast with the family. Joanna and Leo were already downstairs, waiting for them. Leo's nose was in a book; Joanna was drumming her spoon on the table.

"Good morning," Donna greeted the kids.

"Good morning, Mom," came the response in unison.

"How are you on this fine morning?" Josh asked Leo as he took place next to him.

"Fine," Leo answered briefly but then returned to his book.

"Leo, put down the book and let's have breakfast," Donna asked her son.

"Just one more page, Mom," Leo begged.

"No, just put it down," Donna told him.

"Fine," Leo huffed and closed his book. "I hate my new school," he informed them after putting honey on his toast.

"I know," Donna said with a tired sigh. Leo kept mentioning this at every breakfast they had ever since they moved into Blair House.

"I want to go back to my old school," he insisted.

"Leo, we talked about this, you can't go back alone and I have to be here," Donna said.

"I could live with Uncle Mike or Aunt Frankie," Leo said.

"No," Donna declined.

"What's wrong with your school?" Josh asked Donna's son. Donna asked him not to get involved in this, and although he wasn't thrilled with the idea he acknowledged that it was something the two of them agreed upon and they had to work it out alone.

"My classmates are idiots, the teachers are dumb and I don't want to have a Secret Service agent in the classroom," Leo said.

"Even if you moved back to Wisconsin, they would still be there every step you take," Donna pointed out.

"You just hate it because there is someone better at chess in your class," Joanna piped up.

"Leo?" Donna and Josh turned to the boy at once.

"It's a girl! Girls are not supposed to be better at chess than boys!" Leo exclaimed.

"Well, I guess you have to live with the fact that there is nothing where girls can't compete with boys, Leo," Josh said. "I mean look at your mom, she is the first woman to ever become President of the United States."

"I want to be better at chess than Tamara Tamás," Leo whispered.

"We'll ask Toby to play chess with you regularly," Josh reassured him.

"Would that be okay, Leo?" Donna asked, sounding relieved and hopeful.

"I guess so," Leo said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Okay, today is a big day," Donna said. "I want you both ready for the ceremony by ten. We have to leave earlier, but Zoey will escort you up."

"Okay," Joanna said with a nod.

"I don't want to go to the balls tonight," Leo stated.

"Why not?" Josh asked him.

"It's stupid," Leo said.

"Okay, I need a better argument than that. If you really wanted to stay at the White House alone, you should come up with something else," Donna said.

"I don't want to dance," Leo said.

"You can stay with Toby, he never dances at these events," Josh said.

"I heard him asking CJ to reserve a dance for him," Joanna said.

"Really?" Donna asked her daughter and sent a quick glance at Josh.

They finished breakfast fifteen minutes later and then went to get changed. In the middle of putting on her earrings, Donna sat down on the bed in their interim bedroom and buried her face in her hands.

"Donna?" Josh asked worried.

"What am I doing here? Where was I when Donna Moss promised you to run for President?" she asked.

"Honey, you are getting cold feet now?" Josh asked back incredulously.

"Matt could be President," Donna told him.

"Well, I don't think Helen would be dancing around in joy if it came to that," Josh said, sitting down next to his wife. "You'll be a fantastic President, Donatella."

"How do you know?" Donna asked him through tears.

"I would have never asked you if I hadn't been sure. And President Bartlet would have never had a file on you if you weren't worthy of his legacy. You have an excellent team, Donna. You have Lou as your Communications Director, you have CJ as your Media Consultant, Andie will be your Chief of Staff and she will serve you well. You will have Matt and by extension Charlie and Annabeth. Believe me; you'll be good at this. Amazing even," Josh tried to reassure her.

"And I have you," Donna said.

"Yup, you have me," Josh said, encircling her waist with his left hand. "Come on, finish dressing and then we should go. Dr. Finley and Admiral Terrence are waiting for us," he said, referring to the NSA and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

"Okay," Donna said. "And it's really your Bible we'll use?"

"Yes, it's a Bible I brought as a gift for President Bartlet when I came home from my round trip," Josh confirmed. "It belongs to his presidential library. He wrote me he treasured it very much. It's a very old piece I found in an antiquarian bookshop in Jerusalem. I didn't know until his death, but it was put as a centerpiece into a display case. Zoey thought it would be the perfect Bible to use, and Abbey agreed. So it's basically a Bartlet Bible."

The ceremony was solemn and beautiful. Joanna held the Bible, Josh and Leo flanking her. Donna's favorite singer, Patty Griffin sang America the Beautiful, and Tabatha Fortis read a poem. After being taken back to the White House, Donna and Josh parted ways. Donna went with Andie to the West Wing and Josh ushered Leo and Joanna up to the Residence.

"Okay, what should we do until we have to get ready for the balls?" Josh asked the two kids.

"We could go on a tour," Joanna suggested.

"Nah, that's boring," Josh said. "Believe me, you'll have enough time to discover the mansion."

"Okay," Joanna said. "We could watch TV then."

"They will just show what we saw earlier," Leo inserted.

"Then let's watch a DVD!"

"Does this place have a DVD-player?" Leo asked Josh, looking a bit dejected.

"Better than that," Josh said, giving Joanna a grin.

"The movie theatre!" Joanna exclaimed. "We have our own cinema, Leo!"

"Really?" Leo perked up.

"Yup," Josh confirmed. "What should we watch?"

"Nemo!" came the answer in unison.

Josh asked the technicians whether they had Finding Nemo, and when they said yes, he led the kids into the movie theatre. They lounged in the first row, in the big stuffed armchairs, drinking hot cocoa. Ten minutes later, Josh noticed from the corner of his eyes that CJ and Lou ventured into the room. Zoey and Charlie soon followed suit, and then came Annabeth with the whole Santos family. Half an hour later Donna entered the room with Andie. Josh stood up and joined her at the back of the room, where she was watching her staff.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yeah," Donna said with a smile. "My family," she said, nodding towards the assembled people in the room.

"I thought we might have to drag them here for a kid's movie, but apparently they are all children at heart," Josh said.

Donna only nodded and then they sat down next to the kids to watch the end of the movie. At last, Donna sent all of them to prepare for the balls, taking the kids and Josh up to the Residence.

"Donna." Josh ventured into her dressing room, holding his bow tie in his hands. "I can't do this."

Donna took the tie and laced it around his neck. She stepped closer, and Josh hugged her, holding her tight in his embrace.

"Everything is going to be alright. You'll see," he tried to reassure her.

"I love you, my Joshua," Donna whispered to him.

"I love you too, my Donatella," Josh returned the confession and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Donna finally tied the tie, and Josh offered his arm for her. He led her out of the room where Andie and Zoey were already waiting for them, both clad in beautiful evening gowns.

"What's next?" Donna turned to her Chief of Staff, missing the smile Zoey and Josh exchanged upon hearing Jed Bartlet's favorite saying.

**THE END**

* * *

**_Well, this is it (not quite the way I planned it, but still the end) Someday I might rewrite the whole series to better fit my original ending. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, if so, please leave a review. Thanks for the continued support on this fic, I was (and still am) really grateful for every encouraging word, for every feedback I got. Thank you very much! _**


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